


Running the Gauntlet

by Thea_Annette



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fencing, Happily Ever After, Jousting, Medieval Tournament, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rey is a Kenobi (Star Wars), Rey is not putting up with any of Snoke's crap, Snoke Is A Creep, the author loves studying the Middle Ages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27599795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thea_Annette/pseuds/Thea_Annette
Summary: Rey lived in a world where a daughter born into the royal family was not ideal. As such, her parents believed that her only use was as a political tool. Her grandparents, King Obi-Wan and Queen Satine, saw things a little differently. When Rey’s parents try to sell her off in an arranged marriage, Obi-Wan steps in to protect her; but the laws of the land are binding. When Obi-Wan works around Rey’s parents and betroths her to the grandson of a trusted ally, things don’t go exactly like anyone thought they would.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 76
Kudos: 175
Collections: Ijustfellintothissendhelp





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This particular story was inspired by a whole list of things. I can’t possibly point fingers in any one direction. I am slowly working through this one. Since the Middle Ages may very well be one of my favorite time periods in history to study, I want to do it right. There were some seriously wacky things going on during that time! One of those things (marriageable age) is brought up in this chapter (whoever thought some of those ages were good ideas to get married at needed some help). Not to worry though! There will be no underage marriage in this story. It just gets mentioned.
> 
> The title of this story comes from the medieval expression “run the gauntlet.” The gauntlet was a difficult and sometimes dangerous obstacle course that a runner had to get through in medieval festivals. I felt that the expression summed up this story rather well.

Rey Kenobi-Kryze was born to unloving parents. Both saw a daughter as a handicap. A son would be needed to continue the current line of rulers in Mandalore. As soon as she was born and her parents were told that they had a beautiful baby girl, the prince and princess left her to the care of nurses and nannies and had very little to do with her. Had it not been for her loving grandparents, King Obi-Wan Kenobi and his wife Queen Satine Kryze, Rey may not have survived infancy.

On her third birthday, the unknowing, happy child was all but put up for sale by her power-hungry parents. In their opinion, the only thing a daughter was good for was brokering peace between kingdoms. They entertained royalty from all over. Their search was thorough. All they wanted was for their daughter to bring power and prestige to Mandalore. If they hurt her in the process, they showed no remorse.

Her grandfather King Obi-Wan, realizing that the council of elders in Mandalore would follow whatever his precious granddaughter’s parents arranged for her and knowing there was no way for him to reverse this process now that it had been started, began seeking someone himself to betroth her to. They were getting far too friendly with the Palpatines in Coruscant and the Plutts of Jakku. Neither choice boded well for Mandalore or Rey. Thankfully, he had been good friends with the king of a neighboring kingdom for many years, and he knew the council of elders would be foolish to accept Coruscant or Jakku over Alderaan. It had been the dearest wish of the monarchs of Alderaan and Mandalore for many years to unite their kingdoms one day. And, as luck would have it, King Bail had a grandson.

The crown prince of Alderaan Ben Solo was a young man of thirteen who was already developing a reputation for being a skilled negotiator and fighter. He was his parents’ and kingdom’s pride. The only thing about him that gave Obi-Wan reason to fret was his age. He was nearly ten years Rey’s senior. With that kind of age difference, the elders of both Alderaan and Mandalore may cause trouble early on. Having made note of his only concern, he nervously contacted the ruling family of Alderaan. Within a month, the betrothal was arranged. At the tender age of three, Rey was engaged to be married. What she was being forced into broke old Kenobi’s heart, but at least he knew that Prince Ben was a much better choice than the arrogant princes of Coruscant or Jakku.

Rey’s parents were, unfortunately, not as happy with the arrangement as Obi-Wan was. They had made a scene when the council sided with Obi-Wan’s choice. For the next three years, they made it their personal goal in life to make Rey into an unhappy, mindless princess. She was taught to follow orders without question, to dress like she was better than everyone, to behave like she was better than everyone. They were the ones who spitefully told her at five years old that she was engaged. Rey did not understand what that meant at the time, but she, from what they had told her, did understand that it meant that they were giving her away. Her only escape from her cruel parents came in the form of her grandparents and the many teachers that her grandparents hired to educate her.

In his frustration with his daughter-in-law and son’s increasingly arrogant behavior, Obi-Wan brought them before the council of elders and disinherited them, making Rey the one who was next in line for the throne – after she was married. They fought it for a time, but eventually they gave up and left. Their daughter was not even on the list of things they wanted to take with them. Regardless of how they treated her, she cried and pleaded with them to stay with her, but they abandoned her there with her nannies and tutors.

The year she turned eight was the year she learned exactly what her parents had done that her grandfather could not reverse. The laws of the land made it so that once it was done, there was no changing it.

“So I really am engaged?” Rey cried out in anger. She had marched into the library and demanded to see her grandparents. “And you really can’t do anything to stop this?”

Obi-Wan shared a pained look with his wife. At least he could comfort her with the fact that she was engaged to someone who was known for being a good man. “My dear, I cannot begin to tell you how awful I feel that you have been forced into this. But I can promise you this, Prince Ben is a wonderful young man. I have known his family a long time. This was the best option. If I had not brought them into this, your parents would have accepted the offer from the ruling family of some other kingdom. Trust me, their favorite options would have been dreadful choices.”

“So you were involved?” Rey’s anger was boiling over by now. Tears were coursing down her face.

“My child, I got involved to protect you. If I had not, you may already be married to whoever your parents’ choice was. The council of elders in some kingdoms can be very strange that way. Queen Leia of Alderaan will not allow you to be married so young. She will ensure that it waits until you are old enough.”

“But you know the traditions behind this. I am not allowed to meet him or communicate with him between now and the morning of the wedding. I won’t know anything about him until after the ceremony. This is unfair!” Mandalore had some very stringent rules that were placed on any princess. Rey knew most all of them at this point. When she learned of those that surrounded marriage, she swore she would never agree to an arranged marriage. That was how she learned that she was for sure already betrothed. Up until that point, she thought it was a cruel joke her parents had played on her.

Rey’s grandparents collected their heartbroken granddaughter and carried her to her room where they let her cry it out. All they could hope was that the elders would not push for traditions to be upheld. A fear which came to light on her twelfth birthday.

On the day she turned twelve, Rey woke scared. The elders had been hinting for the last year that she should be approaching womanhood and that it was time for her to marry. Her grandparents had sworn that Queen Leia would protect her from this. She felt sick to her stomach. When her grandfather returned home the following day, he came straight to her room with good news.

“I told you I made a good choice. You are safe.”

Rey let out a cry of relief. The elders were not going to force marriage on her right now. “How did you do it, Grandfather? Did Queen Leia help?”

He chuckled and smiled at her. “Actually, Leia and I did nothing but sit there. Prince Ben was the one who advocated for you. He called them all old pigs for forcing this on a child. He was adamant that it should not happen now.”

A great well of gratitude sprang up in Rey for her intended. Her grandfather surely was right. Prince Ben was proving himself to be a good man. From that day on, she listened for any news coming from Alderaan about the prince. Everything she heard made her a little more comfortable with what she would one day be forced into. In fact, it was safe to say that as time slipped on, she slowly developed a deep and genuine fondness for this man she had never met.

She soon learned, however, that the council of elders would stop at nothing. Every year on her birthday, they would pick the same fight citing the need for security for both kingdoms and an heir to the throne. She would go to bed each night for the whole week afraid that she would be told she was getting married when she awoke the next day. But every year, her grandfather would come in her room and tell her the same thing.

“I spoke with your betrothed. Prince Ben is on your side. He won’t let the council force this on you. Too much has been forced on you already.” One year her grandfather had even stated that Prince Ben was trying to have some of the more ridiculous laws overturned. Among those laws were the ones that required them to not meet until the wedding day. He apparently wished to meet her before then.

As the years passed, she grew more confident in her grandfather’s choice for her. Prince Ben was the best thing that had happened to her so far, outside her loving grandparents.

On the year of her sixteenth birthday, her fears took on a new form. The council convened as usual to attempt to force her marriage to Prince Ben. This year, however, he came to only one meeting. The council had decided to not allow him to speak and had made it clear that he was not to even be admitted to the meeting chamber at all the rest of the week. They were going to force the marriage that year. As usual, Obi-Wan had spoken to him the night before the council convened about Rey’s fears and age. The day after he was barred from the council meeting, the prince was nowhere to be found. They searched for him for months with no word on his location. Rey cried herself to sleep when the news came in. Her mysterious protector had vanished into thin air. Just like her parents, he had left her. What would happen to her without him around to hold the council at bay?

She was allowed until her eighteenth birthday to “grieve” her loss. That day, the elders met again to announce what they were going to do about the engagement. Obi-Wan came to her room looking tired.

“They mean to still have you marry into the royal family of Alderaan. If Prince Ben does not return by your twentieth birthday, you will be married the next day to his adopted brother Poe Dameron.”

Rey cried fresh tears that night over her lost fiancé. Unlike Prince Ben, she had met Poe face-to-face, and she could care less for him. Sure, he could be a good friend. He was handsome and, unfortunately, behaved like he knew it. He was fiercely loyal and very kind, but he was also very arrogant and hotheaded. She had heard that many times Queen Leia had given him orders, and he had simply done things his way. It always cost Alderaan. She did not wish to be with him because that would put her and her own people in Mandalore at risk.

That night, in a desperate move to avoid having anyone control her life, she decided to leave. She quickly gathered a few maid dresses and some food and water. She slunk down the stone hallways of the castle to the armory to retrieve anything she could use to defend herself. All she found was a quarterstaff and a small dagger. The last thing she had to do was the hardest. She wrote a short note to her grandparents explaining that she was fine but that she could not go through with what her parents had forced her into when she was just a toddler. After she slid it under their door, she collected her borrowed things and sneaked out of the castle.

For the next several months, Rey traveled the length of her kingdom and eventually found herself in Chandrilla, a province of Alderaan. Once there, word began reaching her of a band of vigilante knights who had been attempting to be the law and order in the outer reaches of Alderaan for the last three years. They called themselves the Knights of Ren. Their leader Kylo Ren was known for being a dangerous man and a skilled fighter. No one had gone up against him or his knights and won. This unsettled Rey. She now knew she was out in the wild with a group of men on the loose, and no one knew if they meant harm or not. From that day on, she began selecting her rest spots more carefully. She made sure that they were well concealed.

It had been nearly a year since Rey left home. She was tired. The odd jobs she had been working had left her sore in ways that she could not have imagined while living in the castle under the care of her lady’s maids and the protection of her guards. Most recently, she had been working as a scullery maid in a local tavern. It was her least favorite job. The hours were long and the patrons were demeaning. She had decided after only a few weeks there that she had had her fill. She thanked the owner and went on her way with her payment.

That first night back on the road, she once again found herself looking for a well concealed place to make camp for the night. She found a large, dead tree that was hollowed out at the base. It was plenty big enough for her to crawl under and sleep. Deciding it was the best option, she got down on all fours and slid under the roots. Her pack became her pillow and her cloak was her blanket. She drifted to sleep after only a few moments of tossing and turning.

The next morning, she woke to the feeling of someone poking her shoulder. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but, when they did, she found herself looking into the eye slits of a knight’s helmet. Behind him were five others either standing on the ground or in the branches of nearby trees. They were not well dressed. Rather, they looked like men who saw a lot of action. Their armor was obviously not for show.

A gentle rustling of the leaves brought Rey’s attention to a seventh knight who had just dropped out of a tree. He was very tall and broad. Just like the others, he was wearing armor from head to toe. Everything on him that was not metal was black leather. Unlike the others who were carrying spears, bows, maces, and axes, he had a sword strapped to his side. The ruby in the pommel was dazzling in the sunlight.

It didn’t take her long to piece everything together. Exactly what she had feared for the last few months of being in Alderaan had happened. As much as she tried to avoid them, she now found herself in the presence of the Knights of Ren. She began to shake in fear as the man with the sword treaded her direction. If these were the Knights, that meant that this man was their leader. This was Kylo Ren.


	2. Chapter 2

Panic started pooling in the pit of Rey’s stomach as soon as she recognized who these men were and realized that they might mean her harm. In the space of time between one breath and the next, however, Rey realized that they were not displaying threatening behavior at all. They were being cautious. To make things more confusing, she recognized the odd sound she had been hearing coming from the husky knight nearest her. He was shushing her – trying to calm her. A deep, gentle voice suddenly broke the quiet of the forest.

“Cardo. Do you have your eye on it? If I pull her out, can you get it faster than it can get her?”

Rey’s attention quickly snapped to who she believed to be the speaker, and anger started replacing her earlier panic at being awoken by unknown men in the forest. Kylo Ren was planning to pull her out of her hiding place. She would be vulnerable. She decided that she needed to get out of her hiding place, but he spoke again as she began moving.

“Don’t move! Stay perfectly still.” He commanded sharply as he edged closer to her.

Then she heard it. The telling hiss. She gulped heavily and swiveled her head around to see the offender that the knight named Cardo was supposed to get. A large venomous snake was curled up not too far from her feet. It was clearly not happy that someone had invaded its territory. If she hadn’t been scared before, she was nearly panicking now, but at least she understood that their intentions were to help her with the snake. Her terrified and pleading eyes turned quickly back to the leader of the knights.

“I am going to pull you out. Ok?” She nodded the best she could. He was soon crouched down in front of her putting his hands under her arms ready to pull. “Ok. We are going to get you out fast. On three.” He nodded to Cardo who had his ax out and ready. “One, two, three…”

Rey knew it would happen fast, but she did not expect to be hoisted out that fast! With a strong tug, he had her pulled out, rolled her over his body, and was _shielding_ her. When she looked past him to see how the snake had fared, she only saw Cardo cleaning the blade of his axe. Another knight had stepped over and was pulling her things out from under the tree.

Realizing that she could be in danger from these men now that the snake was dealt with, without a second thought, Rey had suddenly pulled Kylo’s sword from its sheath and was pointing it at the knights. She may be afraid, but she was not some fainting damsel in distress. She was also not going to let them take advantage of her. Kylo’s helmet stayed pointed her direction indicating that he was watching her as he stood up.

“I don’t have the time to give you the proper instruction,” he told her in a mildly exasperated and yet amused tone.

_Ah yes. I am dressed like a commoner most of whom have never held a sword in their lives – especially women. Mandalore is definitely unique that way._ Rey thought as she swung the sword around with the ease of someone who was familiar with how to handle it before settling into her fight stance. “I have had the proper instruction since I was four.”

Where the other sword came from, she was not sure, but she was soon crossing blades with the one person she had been warned to never do that with, and, much to her surprise, she found that she enjoyed it. That fight may very well have been the best fight of her life. She had to dodge, block, and attack with a ferocity that she had always dreamed of using, but there was no way she would do that to her elderly grandfather. The men that came in to train her never expected her to swing a sword with this much ferocity either. That was how she frequently bested them.

It was a back and forth struggle for dominance between the two. She would advance and then be pushed back just as quickly. He found himself in the same situation often. Finding her dress to be an impediment, she quickly thanked herself from several months ago for purchasing the leather breeches that she now wore under her dress as she managed to cut a slit from hip to foot to allow for freer movement. This act caught him off guard long enough that she was able to slice across his right shoulder and disarm him.

Rey quickly realized that just because he was disarmed did not mean that he was defenseless. He crouched into his own fighting stance and began allowing his armor to take hit after hit – somehow he managed to ensure that every hit was harmless. In Rey’s frustration clouded mind though, she did not pay attention to the fact that he was guiding them right back to where his sword lay on the ground. By the time she realized this, it was too late. The sword was back in his hands.

They continued circling one another striking and parrying. The sounds of their swords clanging echoed throughout the forest. Had it not been for the root sticking up, she might have won the fight. One moment, however, she was on her feet successfully defending herself against Kylo Ren, the next she was flat on her back staring up at him. He was breathing heavily and holding his sword tip to her throat. She stared back at him defiantly.

She honestly didn’t know what to expect. Maybe death. Maybe something that would leave her disgraced. She never would have guessed that he would start laughing as he sheathed both swords and offered her a hand up. She just laid on her back and stared at him in confusion.

“If we had meant you harm, we would have done so before now. I must say though, it is a good thing we did not. You may very well have killed us all. My congratulations to your teachers and to you as a student.” Kylo spoke to her in a happy but businesslike way.

Rey cautiously accepted the hand that was extended to her. Once she was up, she found that she no longer knew what to do. She stood there awkwardly as she twisted her fingers. One of the knights passed her belongings to her.

“What is a young woman such as yourself doing out here all alone?” Kylo inquired.

“What are you and your band of renegades doing out here frightening defenseless women in the woods?” She snipped back.

Kylo and the rest of the knights laughed uproariously. “I would hardly call _you_ defenseless. Perhaps we could have handled the snake a little differently, but once you were awake you were far from defenseless. Where are you headed? Perhaps we can escort you to ensure the safety of all others who might wish to save you from a snake. If you would like, of course.” He spoke with what almost sounded like admiration in his voice.

Rey was growing more confused by the moment. These men were supposed to be dangerous not whatever this was. Why would they offer her their protection? She eyed them skeptically. “Why should I trust you?”

“You have no reason to trust us. Would it make you feel better if I gave you this sword?” Kylo extended to her the sword that he had been using in their duel a short time before. It was a lovely piece of workmanship. Like his sword, it had a sparkling gem in the pommel. This one, however, was a brilliant blue sapphire.

She looked at the sword longingly for a moment before deciding on her course of action. Her grandfather would probably have called it foolish, but she found that she didn’t have very many other options. “I have nowhere to go. What is your next destination? You could leave me there.”

“Elphrona. It’s a small town full of not much more than monks and scholars. Not sure what you would do there.”

“From there I am sure that I can figure things out. If it would not be too much of an imposition…”

“I already offered to escort you wherever you needed to go. It is no imposition. Please, take the sword. It will make me feel better if you had something other than a staff and small dagger to defend yourself with.” Kylo once again extended the sword to her.

Rey cautiously took the sword from him. The easy conversation that had settled between her Kylo following a rather intense fight had her mystified. “And what might I call you and your companions?”

“You may call me Kylo. You are already familiar with Cardo.” At that, he pointed to the husky knight who had awakened her and disposed of the snake. She quickly bobbed her head in acknowledgement. He pointed to the others in turn as he introduced them. “The others are Ushar, Ap’lek, Trudgen, Kuruk, and Vicrul. And what might your name be?”

Thankfully, this was something she had anticipated during her travels. She knew she couldn’t go around using her real name if she wished to continue to be free. “Kira. My name is Kira.”

“Well, Kira, it will take us a little over a week to get to Elphrona from here. Odds are very good that we will have a few stops to make on the way as well.” Kylo began as he moved around helping his men gather their supplies that they had abandoned in order to help her. “You are more than welcome to join us. We promise that you will not come to any harm from us. Right, men?” All the knights adamantly agreed and welcomed her to their group for the time being.

After that one conversation, Rey quickly learned that none of them were particularly loquacious. They spoke only when spoken to or when they had something important to say. Otherwise, it was eerily silent around them. Even their footsteps did not betray their presence. 

That first day was a learning curve for them all. They were most assuredly used to it just being them. Adding a woman to the mix turned into a comical adventure. It was very clear that only Kylo seemed to know how to behave around her. He was frequently found chastising the men for being borderline rude in their attempts to keep their promise not to harm her. After helping her out of the mud that the horse she was borrowing had unceremoniously dumped her into, he finally snapped and took care of the situation once and for all.

“Kira. For the sake of my nervous companions, can you please just give them verbal permission to help you should you find yourself in a situation where they might have to hold your hand to help you stand?”

She probably shouldn’t have, but Rey found herself laughing at the pitiful sight that these powerful knights made in the presence of one small female. “Yes. That is fine. I usually can take care of myself, but if you genuinely wish to help, I will most certainly allow it.”

Despite all their shortcomings when it came to dealing with women, Rey found herself developing a soft spot rather quickly for the heavily armored band of misfits. On the first day alone they made her feel safer than she had most of her life – due in large part to the elders of Mandalore. They began teaching her how to survive in the wild; how to cook over a campfire; how to find a safe place to sleep. Sure, she was exhausted when they made camp that first night, but she was happy.

At some point during the first day, her confusion had bled into curiosity. How did men like these get such a reputation for being dangerous? They reminded her too much of that one litter of puppies that her grandfather’s favorite hound had not too many years back. Always happy and willing to please. They followed her grandfather around like they worshipped the ground he walked on.

Kylo, though, was a little different than the others. While the others were a bit rough around the edges, he appeared to be educated and confident. He was always watching as his knights interacted with her. She almost wondered if maybe he was watching to make sure that they kept their promise to keep her safe. Despite how much talking he did at their initial meeting, he turned out to be the quietest of the knights. Rey found his presence to be very calming.

Over the following few days, Rey learned that it was, in fact, not all of the knights that made her feel safe. It’s not that she felt unsafe with them. Quite the contrary. No. Her sense of safety came from their leader. Kylo was always hyper vigilant and ready to protect. He was a natural caretaker. Whatever the group had need of, he made note and figured out a way to get it. If a fight broke out among the knights, he was there to quickly break it up and smooth over whatever had caused the fight to begin with. At night, if he wasn’t guarding them, he slept in such a way that he could easily get up and defend. Rey found herself sleeping as near to him as she could without it being inappropriate.

The one thing about her new companions that did unnerve Rey a little was the fact that they never removed their helmets in her presence. They had rather vaguely informed her early on that their helmets were meant for the safety of someone; though she could never quite catch who. On top of that, the job they had been given required them to remain safely anonymous. As such, they quickly made sure that she also had a way to hide her own identity for as long as she was with them.

Vicrul and Ushar had returned from nearby village where they had collected necessary supplies for their trip to Elphrona on the second day that Rey was with them. They rather excitedly pulled a large bundle of black cloth and leather from one of their pouches and tossed it to her.

“You will find in that bundle a long tunic that is hooded and breeches as well as boots and a mask. That mask will cover everything but your eyes. Hopefully this will keep your identity safe.” Ushar had proudly pronounced as they plodded into the camp with their treasures.

“Did you also find a belt for her to attach her sword to?” Kylo suddenly appeared catching her by surprise. He really was much too quiet for someone of his size. She desperately wanted him to teach her how to do that.

“Got it!” They quickly produced the afore mentioned item and set it down on the ever-growing pile in Rey’s arms.

She excused herself to put on her new clothes. Excited was hardly the word to use for this moment. Rey had made sure to let Kylo know that she would be gone for a little while so that he would make sure to keep the rest of the knights away from the river until she got back. It felt so good to be able to wash off the grime that had collected since her last bath, and the fresh clothes that were far more practical and not tattered left her in a rapturous mood.

When Rey returned to camp, she found Vicrul and Cardo staring into the pot over the fire arguing about whether or not the water was boiling, Kylo sharpening his sword, and the others preparing new arrows. As silently as she could, she approached Kylo after she decided that she wanted to try sneaking up on him.

“If you are attempting to be quiet, you should definitely work on controlling your breathing.” Rey deflated a little when Kylo spoke.

“How are you able to move about so silently?” She petulantly asked as she sat on the ground across from him.

He chuckled before lifting his head to look at her. She did wish she could see his eyes. “Much practice. If we have time between here and Elphrona, I can teach you.”

Rey watched him curiously for a moment as he sharpened his sword. “Actually. There is something you could teach me that might be more useful. Despite all the lessons I have had in how to use the sword, I was never taught how to sharpen one.”

She liked to think that he smiled at her when he once again lifted his head from his work to peer her way. It had become her greatest wish to see all of these men with no helmet but especially the one she was sitting with at that moment. He intrigued her.

“I can do that. Go get your sword.” He seemed almost eager; like he really did want to teach her.

He spent the rest of the time they had that evening until dinner was ready showing her how to properly care for her sword and its sheath. It thrilled her to be able to learn from him. To be able to listen to his voice. She found her desire to see his face ever increasing. Even if she never did get that chance, she had already decided that she needed to be careful with her heart here because it would be far too easy to fall for this gentle knight with no face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was all sorts of fun to write! Did you catch the Mask of Zorro reference? The scene the reference came from was screaming Rey and Ben to me. The next chapter will be up the first weekend of December!


	3. Chapter 3

Just nine short days after they had left what Rey came to refer to in her mind as the snake tree, they found themselves wearily riding into Elphrona. It had been a long week and a half. Along the road, Rey had learned that those who had called these men dangerous had missed the mark entirely. She wondered if maybe those who had called them that were criminals, for they were the only people who ever brought about the strong ire of these otherwise calm men.

During her time with the Knights, she had both witnessed and been involved in a few of their adventures. The first had been a rather simple situation. A nearby farm that was run by an elderly couple was having excessive trouble with a fox invading their hen houses. After witnessing the difficulty while passing the farm one evening, the Knights and Rey had approached the man and his wife and offered their help in exchange for use of their well. With a bargain struck, they waited for night to fall and for the fox to show its face. The poor thing never stood a chance, and the waiting couple found themselves with both food for dinner and a warm pelt for the winter. They spent the next day helping the farmer better enclose his hen houses.

They really only dealt with one dangerous situation. There had been a disagreement between a tax collector and a poor farrier who lived on the outskirts of a tiny village. The tax collector had become increasingly violent towards the poor man and his family. The farrier had quickly sought out the knights and begged them for help. Kylo had wasted no time following him back home to wait for the tax man to come. And come he had. While the farrier was out searching for help. Kylo had been less than pleased to find the collector and his enforcers there threatening children. He and his men were swiftly apprehended and investigated. It hadn’t taken long to discover that he was taking more tax money than was required and keeping more than half of all the tax money that he was taking. He was promptly delivered to the town council for judgment.

The issue with the tax collector was one situation that Rey happily watched from the sidelines. She had no desire to be near anyone who could so blatantly threaten a child. Instead, she stayed with the farrier’s wife and children to keep them safe while silently wondering at how much Kylo seemed to care about the people in Alderaan. What she found equally as curious was how the people seemed to naturally gravitate to him.

Those two situations aside, there had been many other things that had occurred. Things that for the first time in her life made her feel like she was actually doing some good. They had guarded farmers who were taking their goods to the market, helped a single mother (whose husband had died in a terrible accident) hunt for food, and escorted a criminal from one village to the next for trial. Never once did Rey feel unsafe. The only time that Kylo seemed to ignore the fact that she was well more than capable of protecting herself was when they were dealing with the criminal. He had ordered her to stay close and to keep her mask up. Kylo’s behavior truly did make Rey wonder what the criminal was guilty of; though it was probably for the best that she remained clueless.

Now that she was at the agreed upon separating place, she did not know what to do. Usually, she would look for a job that she could earn money from so that she could continue traveling north to Coruscant or Tatooine. She found once she was looking around helplessly at her surroundings that she had no desire to leave her new found friends and purpose. Truly, they were the first real friends she had ever had. She didn’t really count her lady’s maid or personal guard since they were basically paid to be her friends.

“We can get a few rooms here for the night. Be on our way in the morning.” Kylo’s voice cut through her thoughts that were running wild. His tone was almost resigned.

Several mumbled agreements rippled throughout the group as they made their way to the nearby tavern. They were able to get three rooms and a decent meal that was eaten in their rooms. Rey hated being alone with her thoughts right then, but she knew how they were about their helmets. To say they were persnickety about keeping their faces hidden was not an understatement. They hadn’t slipped up once. She didn’t even know their hair or eye color. Despite this irritant, she dreaded the morning. Saying goodbye to them made her heart sink. Saying goodbye to him… But she shouldn’t allow herself to get attached. She was betrothed.

When the early morning sunlight filtered in her window, she awoke to the sound of horses being saddled and laden with provisions. She quickly got up and looked out her window to see the knights preparing to leave. She laid back down on her bed and finally allowed herself to cry over them leaving. Only vaguely did she register the aches in her body.

Whether it was only a few minutes or a few hours, Rey did not know. She was aware of only a few things. First, her head and eyes hurt from crying. Second, her heart hurt from being left behind. Third, there was someone sitting next to her holding a cold, wet towel to her forehead. She did not have the strength to lift her head and look at the person who was caring for her. Unconsciousness dragged her away from the sensation of gentle hands pulling a blanket over her shivering body.

She awoke sometime later to the sun high in the sky and the sound of voices outside her room.

“She has a high fever. It is very likely that the food she ate left her sick. There were a few others reported to be like that.” A high female voice spoke.

A lower voice that Rey felt like she should recognize responded. “My men and I ate the same thing. Why are we not sick? Whatever the case, make sure she gets whatever she needs to get well.” Rey heard the sound of coins being passed over before she fell asleep again.

When she awoke the second time, it was dark. The shivering had subsided, but her head was pounding. When she rolled over, what she saw left her wondering momentarily if she was still delirious with fever. Reclined and sleeping in a nearby chair was a large and extremely handsome man. He had long black hair, and his fair skin was dotted with moles. His features were almost exaggerated in their size. She could just make out a rather large pair of ears from under his hair. According to many of the women she had met, Prince Poe was the most handsome man in any of the kingdoms. Rey now was absolutely sure she could argue that one.

She briefly wondered who this man was until she caught sight of something shining on the floor. When she looked over at it, she very nearly passed out from shock. It was a pile of armor. And resting behind it? A beautiful and easily recognized sword with a ruby in its pommel. Her attention quickly snapped back to the man being illuminated by candlelight. Was this Kylo Ren?

Apparently, she had made too much noise when she woke up, for, when she looked back at him, she found a pair of glittering brown eyes staring sleepily back at her. It only took him a moment to realize she was awake. He was quickly out of his seat and placing his hand on her forehead. She very nearly melted under his gentle touch when she saw what she needed to confirm who exactly he was. She could see the cut from their fight not two weeks ago on his right shoulder peeking out from under the edge of his tunic.

“Kylo?” She croaked out and was promptly horrified by the sound of her own voice.

His lips stretched into a small smile. “You had us very scared. I came up here to invite you to join us and found you unconscious and burning up with fever. You have been in and out of consciousness for two days. It seems your fever broke at some point.”

“Were you really going to allow me to go with you?” She hated how timid her voice sounded.

“Of course. You basically are one of us. Still a little too noisy when you walk, but we can fix that,” he attempted to joke. Rey smiled up at him. He was obviously proud of his attempt at humor.

Her smile slipped and she found herself wiping tears off her face. “I thought you were just going to leave me without a goodbye or anything.”

“Kira, why would I - we do that?”

“My parents did that. And they left me to deal with their decisions for my life. Others have done that as well. Left me. I guess that has made it difficult for me to trust that you and the rest of the Knights won’t do the same.” She wiped angrily at the tears that were still coming hot and fast. Prince Ben had done that to her. He had left her to deal with the elders on her own. He was supposed to protect her.

“We won’t leave you,” came his gentle promise.

Rey stilled as she looked into his eyes. She saw nothing but honesty there. “I won’t leave you either. I would love to join the Knights.”

Kylo’s answering smile could have outshone the sun, and Rey knew beyond any doubt that her heart was in for a world of trouble. She returned his smile before asking for food.

While she ate, she watched him slowly start putting his armor back on. She hoped beyond all reason that he would leave the helmet off as long as he was with her.

Perhaps it was her insatiable curiosity or perhaps it was the remains of her sickness, but before she could stop herself, she blurted out: “Kylo, after so many days traveling together, why take your armor off now?”

He paused in the midst of strapping his sword to his side and turned understanding eyes on her. “A couple years ago, Kuruk was shot. His injury festered, and he became ill. He didn’t seem to respond to any of us well as long as our armor was on. Since then, when one of us is injured or ill, the person who cares for them does so without armor.”

“You treated me as one of you before I even accepted?”

Kylo shrugged his shoulders and made like what he had done was no big deal, but Rey knew better. These men were very particular about where and when they removed any piece of armor. What he had done spoke volumes about his character. What he had done showed his kind and gentle heart. What he had done sealed her fate. She knew she was falling in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am definitely a few days early, but I figured that since this chapter was ready to go I would go ahead and post it. The next chapter will be up within two weeks.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little early, but it was ready a little early. Enjoy!

Under the nearly constant care of the Knights, Rey quickly healed from the sickness she had managed to acquire. When her strength came back enough for them to leave, they packed everything up again, loaded their horses, and left Elphrona. Rey was not allowed to ride her own horse for the first couple days. Instead, she rode with Kylo until she felt that she could ride safely on her own. She never felt quite as safe as she did when Kylo was holding her while they rode to their new camp.

They made their camp for the first month near a river. Despite the freezing temperatures, this provided them with many of their needs so that they would not have to go back to town for a while. Rey didn’t mind though. She didn’t need a soft bed to sleep on or all the luxuries of a palace to be comfortable. The presence of these gentle knights was more than enough to make her life comfortable and safe.

During that first month, they spent a large portion of time training Rey. She quickly became more adept at sneaking around. Cardo had been her first victim of a sneak attack. It had snowed the night before and she fancied a snowball fight. Seeing the husky knight kneeling in the snow and attempting to light a fire had been too perfect an opportunity to pass up. She deftly formed her snowball and made her way toward him as stealthily as possible. The grunt of surprise when the snowball hit him square in the middle of his back was easily the best thing she had heard in a while. The snowball fight that followed became a treasured memory coming in a close second to seeing all the knights without their helmets.

On their first night at the new camp site, Kylo had appeared for dinner in nothing but his breeches, boots, and black woolen tunic. There was no helmet or armor to speak of on him. Following their leader’s example, the other knights had slowly started to remove their helmets. It was like a completely different group of men after that night. They became more open. Speaking with them became a highlight of each day.

As the days slipped away, she developed other favorite activities. Cooking with Cardo was always an adventure. He knew exactly what to do once the water was boiling, but for whatever reason, he couldn’t boil water. Until then, he was useless as a cook. Hunting with Vicrul and Kuruk was dull but they were experts with a bow – a skill which they happily taught, and she eagerly learned. Ap’lek and Ushar spent most of their mornings teaching her how to properly care for the horses; while Trudgen showed her what was safe to eat from the wild plants.

As much as she valued this time with them, her absolute favorite time of the day was the evening. Every evening, Rey got to either learn from or spar with Kylo. His knowledge of the laws of the land and the local cultures was impressive. He seemed to know how to deal with every situation that came up while staying within the laws. If they did have to deal with the local authorities, he was a master at talking his way out of whatever mess they managed to get in.

While Rey did thoroughly enjoy learning how to move in both the wild and in the law, her favorite pastime became the daily sparring matches she and Kylo would strike up. Depending on the day, their sparring matches could be very tame or excessively wild. During those calmer matches, they would talk about whatever came to mind. Talk, however, was not possible when the match got heated. Rey could not pinpoint what overcame her during those moments, but it always happened when they started getting too close – physically, emotionally, mentally. It was like they both realized something and became frustrated.

“How long do you think it will take for them to figure out that they are attracted to each other and then kiss?” Cardo mischievously inquired one night while he and Ap’lek watched one of the more heated fights.

“Her. Can’t begin to say. Him… you know him. Even if he did figure it out, he won’t act on it and you know why.” Ap’lek replied as Kylo swiped the sword out of Rey’s hand.

The sparring ended shortly thereafter. Both Rey and Kylo sauntered back into the center of camp panting from the exertion of their match. Ap’lek wordlessly passed the canteens of water off to them.

“Sir, we got word today. They have been spotted just outside Batuu.” Kuruk said urgently as he walked into camp. Kylo’s attention was immediately on him. “Best part? There is a tournament there in four days. Odds are very good that they will show their faces.”

The triumphant grins that spread across the faces of all the knights left Rey feeling very curious and somewhat left out. After listening to them plan some form of surprise attack, she could stand it no longer.

“Who are these people you are talking about and why are we going after them?” she demanded. _Easy on the princess tone there, Rey. You don’t want to give yourself away._ She scolded herself.

The sheepish looks that were cast her way would have amused her some other time but not that night. Realization dawned on her that in their enthusiasm to deal with whatever this threat was, they had forgotten she was there. For the first time since she met them, she found herself just a little irritated with the Knights.

Kylo was quick to speak up. “I’m sorry, Kira. We got a little carried away for a moment there. Come. Sit with us. I will fill you in.”

She moved over to what had become her place around their campfire – right next to Kylo. While she was settling in, the others grabbed the weapons and began passing them around to prepare for the upcoming meeting in Batuu.

“They call themselves the First Order, and they are led by a man named Snoke. He has been trying desperately for years to take over as many kingdoms as possible. Most of that was put to a stop when I was a child, but he has remained a dangerous presence here in Alderaan.” Kylo paused and became very reflective for a moment before plunging on. “They are little more than thugs now, but thugs that still cause a lot of trouble in the outer regions of Alderaan. We have been tracking them for some time, and it appears that we finally have our break through.”

“So what will you do with them when you find them?”

“Capture them. Imprison them. Send a messenger to the queen asking for a guard to take them to the capital to face trial and possibly execution. Some might simply be banished, but there a few who will likely be executed. Like Snoke. He led an attack that completely wiped out Hosnia.” Kylo’s voice carried a heavy weight to it. It reminded Rey of the way her grandfather spoke when something bad had happened in Mandalore and there was nothing that could be done.

“I remember hearing about that.” The attack had happened shortly before her fifteenth birthday. A year later, the attacks were becoming worse and worse. That was part of the reason the elders pushed so hard for her to marry Prince Ben. They were afraid for their kingdom should something happen to the prince.

“Well, we will be dealing with the perpetrators in four days. I would recommend you get rest before then. I also need you to make me a promise.” His eyes conveyed the seriousness of what he was about to say. Rey felt her gut clench in trepidation as she really considered what she might be doing in just a few short days. Knowing that he meant well and would not insinuate that she could not take care of herself, she nodded her head in assent.

“Whatever I tell you to do, please make sure you do it. No matter what you think you can or not do. I need you to promise to follow my orders exactly. In this group, we are responsible for each other. We look out for each other. Take care of each other. That being said, as the leader, I feel the responsibility a little more, and I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt. Promise me you will follow orders no matter what?”

Rey knew something about that feeling of responsibility, but his genuine show of concern for her well-being brought a warmth to her that she struggled to explain. His sincerity made it easier for her to promise that she would follow instructions. The initial fear that had crept in slowly uncurled from around her body and she felt herself relax. Kylo knew what he was doing, and she felt safe with him. She knew all would be well if followed orders and kept her mask up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is going a slightly different direction than I originally planned. Still thinking that it will land at ten chapters but there is a possibility it could go a little longer. Oh well! Next chapter should be up within a week and a half. Looks like we have some excitement ahead (definitely a tournament)! As always, thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Tournaments were not an unusual thing for Rey to attend. She had been to plenty in her lifetime. As the future queen, she was expected to sit with her grandparents as they presided over the activities. Though all who participated were very strong and skilled, Rey rarely found herself impressed. She much preferred the scenery and the food. This time though, she found herself wishing that the Knights of Ren could participate. _That_ would surely make this far more interesting. As it was, she was enjoying being able to watch it with them even if it was from outside the tournament area.

True to her word, Rey put her hood and mask up before they entered town and made sure to keep it up. She and this little band of knights attracted attention nearly immediately. It would be hard even at a tournament for knights their size to blend in seamlessly; Rey, however, did not blend in at all. It was not every day that a woman wore black leather breeches, a tunic that barely reached her knees, a hood, and a mask; but there she was. Add to that her weapons, she was an unusual sight indeed. At least she could be comforted with the fact that she was unidentifiable.

Rey hardly noticed the stares though as she wandered through the vendors’ stalls and took in her surroundings. The tournament was set to happen on the outskirts of Batuu. The town had set up a temporary village of tents and wooden huts that surrounded the arena. Colorful cloths covered the tents. Banners depicting the coats of arms of each noble family that was in attendance were draped over the walls. Children ran around with sticks pretending to be knights jousting or fencing while their parents bartered with the vendors for their goods.

It was a colorful and joyful sight that made Rey’s heart clench with a longing to be with her grandfather. She always enjoyed wandering through the vendor’s stalls with him. They would walk arm-in-arm as they interacted with their people. It was always a highlight of her year; though, without fail, she complained about the smell.

Much to her delight, however, she could hardly smell horse or dirty knight odors (aside from the arrogance of many of the knights who saw her as a prize to be won, these were her least favorite things about the tournament). Instead, her nose was filled the delicious aroma of freshly baked breads, savory meats, and fresh cut flowers.

She wandered through the vendor’s stalls with Kylo and Trugden while the other split off in the direction of the woods. They would occasionally stop to look at the goods that were for sale. Rey found herself staring admiringly at a beautiful green scarf. She reached out and ran a hand over it before walking away. A few moments later, Kylo came up alongside her and pressed the green scarf into her hands. She looked up at him with wide eyes and then back at the vendor who was showing his wife a piece of gold money. Kylo had overpaid.

“You shouldn’t have to give up every comfort just because you are riding around with a bunch of stinky knights.” Kylo remarked at her confused and surprised expression.

The mask did little to hide her smile. She watched him walk away and continue his perusal of the makeshift temporary town.

Relaxed. Unafraid. Attentive. Confident. Kylo was walking through the vendors like he was in charge, but, based on his body language, he loved everything about this. Rey could tell that he was enjoying watching the people. She didn’t need to see his face to know that he was watching the scene like everything here was precious to him.

Just as they rounded the corner to the arena, they heard the tell-tell crack of wood as the crowd erupt into cheers. Rey was not surprised in the least to see that it was the joust that was causing such a commotion.

For a short time, they paused to watch the event. The knights took their places at the lists and received their lances from their pages. After a tense moment, their horses were off - hurtling toward each other. The speed with which they collided was terrifying. The blue knight that Rey easily identified by his coat-of-arms as a member of the Ackbar family, deftly unhorsed his opponent and shattered his lance. She smiled as he paraded around the arena in celebration of his victory but remained unimpressed.

Unbidden, the image of Kylo being the one riding around the arena celebrating a win popped into her head. _Now that would be impressive though terrifying to watch_.

Rey felt her cheeks warm slightly at the impulsive thought as she scolded herself for behaving that way when she was engaged. For the first time since she had started wearing it, she was thankful for the mask to hide what she was sure was a deep crimson blush.

Just as they were about to walk away, a greater commotion began in the arena. Kylo’s hand instantly reached out to pull her closer as they ducked out of sight. From their hiding spot, they could see an old man on a pale, sickly horse ride into the arena flanked by eight knights in red on black horses; a tall, beautiful blonde woman on a grey horse, and a richly arrayed red head knight on a chestnut mare.

“People of Batuu,” rasped the old man, “I am Snoke, Lord of Exegol and rightful ruler of this land.”

Cries of outrage went up. They wanted nothing to do with him after what he had done to Hosnia. With a flick of his hand, Snoke set his guard loose upon the unsuspecting people of Batuu.

“Sir, how are we going to deal with them now? There are too many people.” Trugden hissed in Kylo’s ear.

Faster than Rey ever thought he could move, Kylo shot out of his hiding place and stormed into the arena.

“SNOKE!” He bellowed out. The uproar came to an abrupt end. “Leave these people. You have no right to be here. Last I heard, you were exiled. You shouldn’t even be in any part of Alderaan.”

“Who are you, boy? You have courage.” Though Snoke spoke praising words, they were laced with venom.

“I am Kylo Ren.” His name caused a swell in murmurs through the crowd. People craned their heads to get a glimpse of him. It was a curious thing for Rey to watch. “For the sake of the safety of the people, I propose a compromise. Your best knight versus me in the joust. Your man wins; you stay. I win; you and yours leave and never come back.”

Rey suddenly felt Trugden lean towards her to whisper in her ear. “Genius! Kylo wins and they will have to leave the town; we can deal with them then. No innocents harmed.”

Granted, Rey saw the wisdom in this; but it still worried her. Despite her earlier daydream, she became very concerned for Kylo’s safety. The joust frequently left its participants injured and occasionally even dead. Had Kylo ever even jousted before? Her mind swirled with questions as she watched Trugden use his sword to catch the sunlight in a signal to the other knights.

“Agreed.” Snoke’s voice boomed across the arena. His confidence that his knight could defeat Kylo was evident on his scarred and wrinkled face.

In no time, Vicrul and Cardo arrived with Kylo’s great black horse in tow. Suddenly, she remembered watching the tournaments with her grandfather and seeing the ladies with their knights. She ran the green scarf through her hands as she jogged over to him.

“For luck.” She extended the scarf to Kylo with trembling hands. “Considering what you are about to do and why, you could use all the luck you can get. Or that is what this supposed to do.” She rambled.

“I’d be honored.” He hastily interjected and held out his arm for her to tie it on.

With the green scarf secured in place, Rey watched him mount up and accept a lance that was being offered by another knight. As he spun his horse around to face his opponent at the other end of the lists, she was struck by his ease. Even his horse seemed familiar with the lists. At the other end of the lists, the red head knight who had been announced as Sir Hux was accepting his lance and preparing to charge. Rey found her heartrate beating at the same tense speed as the hooves of the horses that were now pawing the ground, ready for what was soon coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tournament is one of my favorite things to study! It was not an intelligent thing for anyone to be doing, but it is quite fascinating to learn about. I also bent one rule. According to the rules of jousting, you have to have all of your own equipment to be able to participate which Kylo did not right here. Special circumstances gave me permission to allow him to use someone else's lances. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it! Next chapter will be up next weekend!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I will ever be totally happy with this chapter, but here it is. Writer's block hit me hard until Friday night. The Mandalorian season finale knocked that block right out! This chapter is all from Ben's POV.

Ben’s heart was pounding so hard that he was sure anyone who came close to him could hear it. He might or might not admit if it was because of the joust or the scarf dangling from his arm. Kira had been admiring the beautiful green scarf, and he just could not stop himself from purchasing it for her. He had gotten rather creative with his excuses for buying it for her, but, truth be told, he would do anything to make her happy. When she gave it back to him for luck during the joust, he had to remind himself for the thousandth time that he was engaged.

Instead of allowing thoughts of Kira and Rey to fill his mind, he chose be mindful of his training and to focus on his opponent. He watched Armitage Hux carefully noting each of his movements. In a short space of time, he noticed the knight’s weakness. To anyone else, it wouldn’t have been very obvious, but to someone who had been jousting since he was able to hold up the lance, it was a glaring deficiency. He was not properly seated on his horse.

Of course, Ben knew that Snoke was no simpleton. He would never trust just anyone with a job when so much was on the line. Naturally, this meant that Hux was most likely a skilled fighter. He must be cautious.

Ben deftly swung his faithful horse Grimtaash around to face their opponent at the other end of the lists. His fist tightened around his lance in anticipation of the coming strike, and a smile spread across his face as the memory of watching his uncle -and mentor- joust for the first time hit him. There could have been no better knight to learn from. Luke was the best, and he had taught Ben well. This other knight had no idea what he had just gotten himself into.

_Overconfidence is a weakness, Ben. Don’t give in to it. It will be your undoing._ His uncle’s voice flitted through his mind as he and Grimtaash charged down the lists to meet Hux. It became evident that he should have not have indulged himself in overly confident thoughts about his training or trainer when Hux managed to not only keep his seat but to actually score a point by breaking the tip of his lance on Ben’s chest. The blow was not very hard, but it was so well placed that someone who was not used to doing this would have easily hit the ground.

_Time to rework my initial assessment of this knight._ Ben thought as he looked at his undamaged lance. So this knight might not be the best with a horse or the strongest, but he was smart – knew how to properly place his lance. That always made for a dangerous foe.

Ben and Grimtaash quickly took their place again. He fought every urge in his body to look over at Kira. The last thing he wanted to see was disappointment over the fact that he had missed entirely. One thing he could say for that round, though, was based on how hard his lance hit, he knew Hux didn’t have a strong hold on anything. That was another thing he could work with.

Grimtaash pawed the ground under him restlessly as they prepared to storm down the lists again. Ben reached a hand down to rub the black stallion’s neck to help settle him as he observed the knight at the other end prepare as well. This horse knew the lists every bit as well as Ben did, and he was clearly relishing being able to do this again.

Once the signal was given the second time, Ben spurred Grimtaash into run and lowered his lance. He watched carefully through the eye slit in his helmet as the red-headed knight and his mare came towards him on the other side of the lists. Ben knew in the blink of an eye that he had the knight right where he needed him when he noticed how he was holding himself and his lance. Pride. Overconfidence. Hux thought he was actually going to win.

As the horses neared one another, Ben angled his lance to the perfect level to hit Hux directly in the chest. An area that was left completely open. _Maybe not smart after all._ Ben though wryly.

There was a loud crack as lances struck armor. It happened so fast that Ben barely had time to comprehend everything. When he wheeled back around, he found, much to his displeasure, that Hux was still on his horse. Much to Ben’s delight, however, he realized that he had completely shattered his own lance. He looked up to see that he was holding only half of it in his hand. The rest lay scattered around the arena. Due to that, he had acquired three points. Hux had two. If he could just manage to break the lance and unhorse Hux, that would give him an unarguable win. Snoke would have to leave Batuu. He could be dealt with away from populated areas.

With that thought firmly planted in his head, he repositioned himself at the end of the lists and accepted a lance from Vicrul. As he adjusted the reins and settled into position for what he hoped would be the last run of this joust, he whispered to himself words that he had heard his uncle say right before a fight: “Can we just skip to the part where you all run out of here crying.”

The signal was given. Ben didn’t hesitate to spur Grimtaash into action once more. Once again, he saw his opening – the middle of Hux’s chest was completely unguarded. Holding his position in the saddle, Ben thrust out the lance with as much force as he could. He felt the moment the impact happened. There was a wave of overwhelming pain that washed over him as he felt his arm come out of joint at the shoulder at the same time that he heard a lance crack.

Ben’s vision blacked with the pain for a short time, but he managed to keep his seat on Grimtaash’s back. Strangely, he never once felt the other lance make contact with him.

Once he had control back, he snapped his horse around to find the most glorious thing he had ever seen. Hux was lying on the ground some twenty feet from his horse, and Hux’s lance was lying on the ground a further fifteen feet from its master.

Not even bothering to take the time to parade around his success or to assess the extent of his shoulder injury, Ben turned his fury on the old, withered madman watching the whole event with a sickening fascination.

“Get out of, Batuu.” Ben snarled at Snoke.

The gleeful glint in the old man’s eyes told Ben this wasn’t over. He knew that look. It was the one that said he had other plans – plans that usually ended ugly for someone.

After Ben watched Snoke and his men collect a blubbering Hux from the arena floor and leave, he finally gave in to the pain in his left arm. He doubled over in his saddle and bit his lip to keep from crying out.

“Kylo!” came the voice that sounded like honey. It had a sweet sound to it, and was rather sticky – it stuck in his mind far too often.

Looking up, he found Vicrul and Kira standing next to Grimtaash looking up at him. Vicrul had seen him do this many times before, but Kira hadn’t. Her eyes told him that she was both impressed and terrified. If he got a little lost in her eyes in that moment, he wouldn’t admit it. If he were asked if he fainted and fell off his horse because of extreme pain, he would correct the inquirer by saying that he had simply passed out (because apparently that sounds more manly than fainting). If he were asked if his last thought before hitting the ground was about how he had fallen harder for the girl to his right than he just did falling off his horse, he might agree.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rather calmly setting the stage for what is to come. Nothing ground breaking will happen here, but it is all necessary for the plot. Enjoy this quiet moment! Also, they are fixing an out of joint bone right at the beginning. Figured I should say something just in case anyone needs to know. It doesn't get too descriptive.

Rey felt her stomach lurch in discomfort as she listened to the pops and cracks that were coming from across the fire where Trugden and Cardo were dealing with Kylo’s dislocated arm. Kylo himself was white as a sheet, and his face was covered in a layer of sweat. Only the occasional grunt or groan indicated that he was in any pain. When the final “pop” reverberated around the camp indicating that his arm was set to rights again, Rey watched Kylo’s body sag against the tree behind him.

Hurriedly, she collected a bowl of the stew she had made while the others took care of Kylo or hunted Snoke. Once she was given the “okay,” she sat down next to Kylo.

“Here. You need to eat something. I can update you on Snoke while you eat.” She spoke gently as she lifted the first spoonful of the steaming stew to his mouth.

Kylo eyed her cautiously before coming to the conclusion that just once he might need help eating – especially since Trugden was busy tying him arm up in a sling. Letting go of his pride, he allowed her to feed him.

“Vicrul and I managed to get you out of the arena and into the woods pretty quickly. Unfortunately, in the time it took us to help you and to get word to the other knights, Snoke and his men had already gotten to far away. Their trail went cold after about two hours. I’m sorry, Kylo, but we lost them.”

Rey honestly didn’t know what else to say to him. The emotions that flickered through his expressive eyes told her that wrestling back anger and something else. And apparently losing if his next rather harshly spoken words were any indication.

“You should have left me in the arena. Snoke was the priority. I told you before we left to follow my instructions. Capturing Snoke was the job. No matter what. I told all of you that.”

The cold tone he used left Rey feeling somewhat hollow. Kylo had not been so cold to anyone in the time that she had known him. Even his knights said that he was a gentle and understanding leader. Whatever brought this on was bringing out a monstrous attitude. She could see it swirling in the depths of his dark eyes.

“That man is dangerous. He can’t be allowed to continue running unhindered through Alderaan. Nothing, Kira, should have taken precedence over getting rid of his influence in this kingdom. Maybe I shouldn’t have allowed you to even come. Perhaps it would have been better if you stayed here at the camp. There would have been no distractions.”

Throughout his berating speech, Rey had watched him the best she could through the slowly gathering tears. Yes, he was in pain. Yes, things had not gone his way. However, that was not what was causing this outburst. It was sitting in the back of his eyes, and it had become unmistakable the longer he spoke – fear. Whatever he was afraid of, Rey did not know. She did know that it was the fear speaking and not him.

“I did follow your instructions. You said capture Snoke but not at the risk of lives. We didn’t know what would happen if we just left you there. Vicrul kinda figured – and I agreed with him - that your life counted too. Sorry for being wrong.” Her tone remained gentle, but her eyes were swimming with the coming tears.

Kylo’s mouth popped open like he was going to say something, but Rey just put her hand up to silence him before setting his bowl of stew on the ground and walking away. She slid down the tree trunk nearest her bed roll and pulled her knees up to her face. Aside from a few stray tears, she never actually cried, but there was definitely pain. It shouldn’t have hurt, but they way he talked to her did.

Rey was pulled from her heartache a short time later by the sound of rustling leaves. Lifting her head slowly, she peered into the brush out in front of her. Whether it was a trick of the light, her own overactive mind, or something else, Rey was unsure. For a moment, she thought she saw something in the woods, but when she quickly reached around to grab her sword and stand, whatever it was was gone.

“Kira.”

Generally speaking, Rey knew that all of the Knights of Ren were especially sneaky and that none of them really made a sound, but that knowledge certainly did alleviate the terror that struck her when Kylo suddenly appeared at her side and said her name. With little thought, she yanked her sword free of its sheath and swung it his direction. He managed to sidestep the blade before it struck him across face.

“Sheesh, woman! I didn’t mean to upset you that much. Can we at least talk _before_ you behead me?” His tone was so genuine and he looked truly remorseful. Rey realized that he actually thought she was upset enough with him to go for a real fight.

“Oh no! Kylo, I am not that upset with you. A little hurt but that’s it. You just startled me. I thought I saw something in the woods before you came over.”

At her words, Kylo huffed a sigh of relief and disappeared in the direction she had indicated she heard the noise from. When he came back and said the he saw nothing, she tossed him an annoyed look.

“I can take care of myself. You don’t need to run around trying to protect me all the time.” Her words were laced with far more venom than she intended. She knew he couldn’t help himself. Being a caretaker and protector was just second-nature to him.

“I know you can. Doesn’t mean I will stop trying to keep any of you safe.” He stated matter-of-factly. With a small sigh, he sat down next to her and motioned for her to join him. “I really am sorry for what I said. There is a reason I am this way when it comes to him. It’s not an excuse, but it is a reason, and I feel like you should know it if you are going to continue to travel with us.”

“All right, so start talking. What’s this reason?” she asked feeling some of her defensiveness fall away.

Kylo dragged in a deep breath as he ran his hand over his face before launching into his story. “When I was about five years old, my parents had this old advisor. He was strong, intelligent, capable, good at listening. He took an interest in me at an early age. He talked to me, spent time with me, taught me some things. It didn’t begin right away, but eventually he started filling my head with lies about my family in an attempt to eventually twist me against them. I didn’t want to believe him, but my parents did little to prove him wrong. Despite being so young, I knew that he was not a good man. Out of fear of what he would do, I told my parents some of the things he had been saying, but, like usual, they never listened. Because of their disinterest in anything that had to do with me, I started struggling with anger. I would explode into fits of rage over nothing in an attempt to get their attention.

“My parents finally had enough after dealing with me and my anger for about two years. They barely had anything to do with me before because they were so busy, but after my temper grew unmanageable, they sent me off to live with my uncle. I was barely nine. The old advisor kept in contact with me during that time. It took a little while, but my uncle proved to be more than just the strongest knight I had ever met; he also proved to be more of a father to me than my own father. By the time I was eleven, I trusted him enough to finally try telling someone the truth again. My uncle believed me and confronted the man who had made it his sworn duty to twist my mind.

“The man that caused so much trouble? The one that messed with my head for years. That was Snoke.” Ben finished with a defeated sigh as he dragged his good hand through his shoulder length black hair.

It took Rey a moment to really comprehend all he had said. He was definitely leaving out some important details, but she got the picture. All she could think and verbalize was, “At least your uncle was there for you.” _Just like my grandparents were there for me when no one else was._

“Yeah. He’s the best. Taught me most of what I know. No one liked going up against him at any time during a tournament… or really just anytime. He wasn’t known for losing.” Ben grinned as memories of his time with his Uncle Luke passed by in his mind. During the last almost four years out in the wilderness, he had missed his uncle’s steadiness and wisdom. “Best knight you could imagine. Great man too. I wish I could talk to him right now. There is so much I could use his guidance on.”

Rey didn’t miss the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. It didn’t take a genius to realize that he was very fond of his uncle. “My grandparents were that for me. My parents abandoned me. Left me with the choices they made for my life. It if weren’t for my grandparents, I don’t know where I would be right now. Or if I would be alive for that matter.”

They shared an understanding smile before sitting back against the tree and looking up at the stars. Rey couldn’t imagine a more peaceful moment. She was sitting with someone who seemed to completely understand what it was like to have someone else take over as mom and dad. Someone who had rough things forced on him as a child. She longed to hold him close and comfort him in the way he had been denied by his parents, but even something as simple as a hug was not proper. Instead, she chose to fall into the warm embrace of his dark eyes.

The conversation that followed was filled with easy laughter and longing looks. It completely banished from her mind their earlier disagreement and what she thought she had seen in the woods. To her surprise, she found herself letting her guard down for the first time since she left Mandalore. After all, they were alone in the middle of the woods with a small group of highly trained and extremely dangerous knights. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should hopefully be up in a couple days. Wednesday at the latest.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ben/Kylo and Rey have lots of things vying for their attention. One reality check coming right up.

Months had passed since they had left Batuu, but that nagging feeling that something was in the woods and that it was watching her had gone nowhere. Oh, it wasn’t a constant feeling, but it happened enough that Rey began to become hyper aware of her surroundings at all times. She finally came to the conclusion that the only time that she felt it was when they were in town or shortly after they left town. With that knowledge, she convinced herself that it was just the fact that seven heavily armored knights and one woman in black leather attracted attention. Unfortunately, her subconscious was not listening to any of her reasoning.

They continued their hunt for what was left of the First Oder and Snoke, but the trail was ice cold. Kylo was becoming more and more agitated as the days wore on. She assumed that it was because of Snoke, but the others seemed to think that there was more going on. Rey found herself taking an odd comfort in the knowledge that she was not the only struggling mentally. He apparently felt the same way since he frequently sought out ways to be around her claiming that her presence was soothing in a way that crusty old knights could never be.

Unlike Kylo, Rey’s jitters tended to constantly get the better of her. During a rescue one particular morning, Rey couldn’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder. The poor child they had been attempting to rescue from the river, thankfully, did not have to rely on her to help him. She had stayed up on the bank with his frantic mother to keep her from jumping into the water herself. In the midst of the mother’s hysterics, Rey thought she saw something moving in the trees.

For the rest of that day, nearly everything made her jump. The knights concern for her helped a little. Unfortunately, she and Kylo had a less than spectacular sparring match that evening due to her distracted nature.

“Are you sure you are okay, Kira? You’re focus is not there today,” he commented after they just simply quit. They had decided that was better than either of them getting injured.

“Just a little distracted. I’m fine though. Really.” She tried to sound convincing, but even her own head said that her speech was subpar.

Instead of their usual sparring match, they opted to just talk. They talked about anything and everything while carefully skipping around the topic of family and where they were from. Both respected the other’s obvious wish to not speak of it. They told stories of their childhood from when he had taken his father bug hunting to when she decided, much to the displeasure of all around her, for a whole year that trousers were far better to wear than dresses. They settled into a comfortable silence after a considerable amount of time talking.

“I was trying to protect someone.” Ben blurted out. Rey gave him a very confused and questioning stare. “The reason why I am out here - I left home to protect someone.” He clarified. “A situation came up that required my immediate attention while allowing me to continue some of what I love to do while protecting her. If I had stayed… well let’s just say that there are people who were… unconcerned with her well-being. I didn’t want that. Leaving ensured that she stayed safe a little while longer. That is also why I hide my face. I don’t want anyone who might be looking for me to recognize me. Not because I don’t want to be found. Technically, I am not missing. My family knows where I am. I just want _her_ continued safety.”

Rey felt her heart break for him. It broke for the pain he must be feeling at having to be away from his family and someone who was clearly special to him. He spoke of her with such a caring and gentle attitude that Rey couldn’t help but believe that this was someone that he maybe loved. But her heart also broke over the fact that she had been so foolish as to fall for him. She should have known better since she was engaged, and it appeared that his heart was not available either.

She reached out and squeezed his hand in an effort to comfort her dearest friend. “I’m sorry, Kylo. Perhaps one day soon, you will be able to safely return home to her.”

He made an odd, pained noise and scrunched up his face. Rey couldn’t understand why he would behave like that about someone he had spoken of so fondly mere moments before. “Wouldn’t matter. I have waited so long now that she was probably married off to someone else. I guess I am scared that regardless of if she is or isn’t married that my return would cause trouble in her life.”

Rey truly pitied him. This woman was someone he was going to marry, but he left to keep her safe, though from what, Rey didn’t know and respected him too much to pry. His story nearly mirrored her own except for the fact that no one knew where Ben was. He truly was missing; while Kylo was not. He was doing a job. She was not foolish enough to think that life had granted her one favor in letting her meet Ben now.

_

As the months came and went and summer gave way to Autumn, Rey knew her time with the Knights of Ren was running short. Any day, she could be found and forced to return home. She did miss her grandparents, and she recognized that she had done to them what her parents had done to her. Left. How could she have treated her family so? How could she have broken so many promises? Worse, if she kept her promises to her people and family, she would have to break another promise. She would have to leave the Knights.

“Why does doing the right thing have to hurt so much?” she cried out in frustration one day while she was out on a ride by herself. If she stayed, she would hurt her family which would in turn hurt her. If she returned home, she would hurt her dear friends, and she would be put through the pain of marrying someone other than the one she loved. As she rode back to the camp, Rey remained undecided about what she should do. Her heart was torn two different ways.

Later that day at their campsite, she hopefully eyed her sword. More so than usual, she was desperate to spar with Kylo, but dinner came and went without him coming down from his place in the tree where he was keeping watch. The others had commented on how he had been dealing with some heavy decisions through the course of the afternoon and likely would remain where he was for the foreseeable future.

Unconcerned with what they had said, she continued holding out hope that maybe he eventually would come down and at least talk to her, but as the sun sank lower on the horizon, she realized that the others were right. It wasn’t going to happen. That night as the world around her grew quiet and she curled up to go to sleep, she heard something coming from up above her. It sounded distinctly like crying.

The next morning, she was the first up. The sun had not even risen when she started quietly collecting her things. It still surprised her how quietly she had learned to move. There was not a sound that was emitted from her feet as she traversed the space where her belongings were. Which is why the sound of a twig snapping caused her to jump.

When she whirled around ready to free her sword from its sheath so that she might dispatch whoever had entered their camp, she was floored to find none other than Kylo Ren standing there looking a mess. His always perfectly groomed hair was disheveled; and his beautiful, sparkly eyes were bloodshot. He walked like a man defeated.

“Kylo,” she called out timidly. She had never seen him like this so she did not know what to expect. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” His voice was rough. It carried the timbre of someone who had spent time crying.

Knowing this could turn into a heated debate, Rey grabbed his sleeve and dragged him out of the camp before she continued the conversation. “Whatever is going on is not nothing. What is wrong?”

He tried to remain indifferent. Everything about him, though, was coiled tight. His body language might have said that he was trying to remain in control, but she could always trust his eyes to tell the truth. And his eyes were screaming that this was a sensitive topic. There was a definite battle happening in his head, but Rey did not care. She just kept pressing, and she knew that she had pressed to far when she heard him unsheathe his sword.

_Maybe if he blows off some steam, he will talk to me,_ she thought as she yanked her sword free of its sheath.

They came to blows after she pushed him again to answer her; her own irritation seeping through. Their normally friendly match had a definite air of realness to it. Rey was almost scared. His eyes were wild and his hits were stronger than normal. Her hands started to hurt after only a couple minutes.

Rey quickly realized that his rampant emotions had left him distracted. His attention was not completely on their fight. As soon as she saw the opening, she took it – disarming him. Right in front of her, all the fight left him and he looked like the suffering man that she had heard walk into the camp not a half hour earlier. He dropped to his knees and began sobbing.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. I don’t…” he kept repeating while he held his head in his hands. She never would have guessed that someone as strong as Kylo could look so broken.

She kneeled down in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders as she spoke to him. “Kylo. It’s okay. It’s all right. What happened?”

Suddenly, Rey felt the warmth of his much larger hands wrapping around her forearms. She looked up into his haunted eyes. There were so many emotions flying across his features that she could not pin any one down to identify it. For the first time, she was nervous in his presence. During the short time she had known him, his emotions had not gotten the better of him like this. Panic, however, did not set in until she saw his gaze flicker down to her lips and back up. All at once, she understood the looks he had been giving her. Her heartrate picked up as her gaze also dropped to his lips.

Kylo slowly leaned toward her. Rey had no need to question what his intentions were, and she was not about to protest. She wanted this. While her head was telling her that this was a bad idea, her heart was whispering to her all would be well; but when she heard him murmur her name just a breath away from her lips, she snapped out her daze.

“Kira” was what he had called her. It reminded her that he did not know who she was and that her people were relying on her and that she had a fiancé. She jumped up out of his gentle grasp ignoring the look of pain on his face and ran as far as she could before she fell to her knees and sobbed.

Through the heartache and the never-ending torrent of tears, Rey never once heard the footsteps approaching her from behind. She never saw the saw the horses. She didn’t register what was happening until a hand was clapped over mouth and a gag was shoved in. Try as she might, she could not get herself free. The last thing she saw before being knocked unconscious was a man with red hair holding a piece of parchment and declaring: “Yeah. That’s her.” Her body sagged in devastated acceptance. She had a bad feeling about this.

_

There was no way for Ben to know how long he kneeled there on the ground crying out his frustration at himself after Kira ran from him. He was too busy berating himself for such an impetuous decision as trying to kiss her to notice how long he had been alone on the ground. That was how Poe behaved.

_After all this time, he is finally starting to rub off on me. And from a distance, no less._ He ruefully commented to himself.

When Ben finally did pick himself up out of the dirt with every intention of finding Kira and begging for her forgiveness, he found something that tilted his world on its axis. Kira was gone. All her things were still where she had left them the night before. Her bed roll was cold, and her hood, mask, and sword were still lying next to the tree.

When asked, the other knights admitted that they had not seen her all morning. Frantically, Ben began searching for her. Based on where the sun was, he figured that she could have been gone for as little as thirty minutes up to as much as three hours.

They all fanned out and began searching the area for some indication as to her whereabouts. Vicrul stumbled upon it first.

In a clearing not too far away, there was fresh evidence of a struggle. The ground had been dug up by several pairs of boots. One of them most certainly belonged to a woman. There were branches that had been snapped, and plants that had been trampled underfoot. Off to the edge of the scene were a set of highly recognizable hoof prints. Only Snoke’s horse had prints like that.

Kylo felt his blood begin to boil, and he saw only a red haze. Snoke had dared to abduct her right from under his nose. His fists and jaw were clenched tightly, and he could hear his heart thundering its rage in his ears. He closed his eyes and began slowly drawing in breath so that he might begin hunting down the bold ingrate and his accomplices who had done this. He was certain that he had time to find Kira before he needed to be in Sundari.

In the time it took to find her they had better not injure Kira or so help him… but what was the purpose of taking her?

“SIRE!” Came the sudden, frenzied cry of Cardo.

“What have I said about addressing me as such while not in the capital?” Ben growled in response as he opened his eyes and they fell on a piece of parchment. His eyes jumped back up to Cardo’s face that had blanched. His hands trembled and his eyes grew large as he held the document out in front of him for Kylo to take.

For the second time in one morning, this woman managed to upend Ben’s whole world. Written in bold lettering at the top was the word “REWARD.” In smaller type at the bottom was this statement: “Missing: Rey Kenobi-Kryze, Crown Princess of Mandalore. Will pay handsomely for her safe return. Severe consequences will be met out to anyone who should bring her to harm.” It was signed by none other than old King Kenobi. Splattered in a messy scrawl across the nearly pristine poster was a challenge directed to him: “Come and get her, young Solo.”

It was neither the names nor the reward nor the challenge that held his attention captive though. It was the drawing of a beautiful young woman. Ben had never seen his betrothed before, and this was not how he figured it would happen, but there was no mistaking that face. All at once, his heart soared and broke as he realized that he was looking at the face of Kira. No. Not Kira. Princess Rey. His fiancé. They were one and the same. And now Snoke had her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Please don't hate me. The update will be up by no later than Tuesday.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couple quick things to be addressed right at the beginning of this chapter. This chapter is a kinda dark. We also get to spend a little time around Snoke. He is a definite creep. I referenced Pirates of the Caribbean because it fit so beautifully that I just couldn't help myself! Lastly, Sundari was the capital of Mandalore in the Clone Wars; so I kept it as the capital here. Enjoy!

Five days. It had been five days of surviving in this dark, drafty, crumbly old castle. Rey could keep going with the list of descriptions for the run-down mess that she had been dragged to by Snoke and his knights, but what would the point be? It was not the most habitable place she had ever been.

When she had woken up, she had found herself lain out across a hard slab of stone with her hands and feet bound. At least the gag had been removed. The rats that had scurried across her feet had caused her to let out a small stifled scream that alerted her captors to that fact that she was awake.

They did not leave her alone long. Within a few minutes of her waking up and making the first bit of noise, the knight she remembered was named Hux came in her cell and threw down a pile of clothes.

“Lord Snoke has asked that you wear these clothes as they are more appropriate to your station.” Hux spoke with honey coated venom in his words. His disdain for her was clear, but what was even more clear was the fact that Snoke had big plans that even Hux could not argue with.

“You may tell Snoke that I am disinclined to acquiesce to his request.” When the red-haired knight continued to stare at her stupidly, she bluntly said, “Means no.”

“Very well then. Lady Gwendoline Phasma shall be in here soon to assist you with changing.” They way he said “assist” caused warning bells to go off in her mind. It didn’t matter that it was another woman coming to “help her change”, she was about to be given no choice.

As soon as Hux left, Rey quickly set about changing her clothes. She would not bow to Snoke, but she would also not allow him to steal her decency in any way. When the blonde woman from Batuu arrived, Rey was already dressed. The gown was made of fine burgundy velvet and was embroidered in gold silk. Though she hated being forced to wear it, she did begrudgingly admit that the skirt provided something akin to a nice warm blanket.

With a vicious snarl, Hux jerked Rey by the arm out into the corridor and toward what she assumed was the main hall. When they passed through the two large doors hanging awkwardly from their hinges, she found herself looking at Snoke. His presence alone was comparable to the castle that he called home. On his face, he carried a jubilant smile – the kind worn by someone who knew they were about to win – that caused chills to run up and down her spine. She suppressed the need to run in fear and instead responded the way her grandparents taught her to. When she was thrust forward into the room, she quickly found her footing and planted her feet apart in defiance offering Snoke only a challenging glare. She would not be cowed into submission by this creature.

“Young, Rey. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, your highness.” Snoke rumbled. “Come closer, child.”

When Rey stood resolutely in her place, Hux grabbed her by the arm and forced her to stand before the throne that Snoke was lounging in. The closer she got to him, the more disgusted she became by what she saw. This man was positively ancient. He was living proof that dinosaurs once roamed the earth. His face was deformed from deep cutting scars and bones that were never properly tended to. The golden clothing he wore spoke of a deeply seated greed. His eyes were cold and malicious. The very air around him stank of the filth that he wallowed in every day of his life.

“Join me for dinner.” Snoke growled out as he stood and walked over to a long table set for two. Rey was forced to sit next to him.

The meal Rey was offered went largely untouched (she smuggled some of it to her room to eat later). Snoke spent most of the meal speaking of his plans for Alderaan. Eventually, he even spoke of his desire to rule Mandalore as well. His grand plan for that kingdom involved marrying into the royal line – marrying her.

“It would ensure that I kept that throne. I would _legally_ take over as their king. No bloodshed. Isn’t that what you would want?” He purred to her as he reached out and took her hand.

“What I want is for you to take your filthy hand off of mine.” Rey vehemently snarled back, her voice carrying with such force that it actually caused some of the castle to rattle. For a moment, Rey eyed the ceiling fearing that her outburst might cause bigger problems. There was no way she could survive a collapsing castle. When she deemed she was safe from falling stone, she turned her fiery gaze upon Snoke. “I will not marry you. I would rather die than marry you.”

“That can be arranged.”

She was unceremoniously dragged to her quarters where she fell in a sobbing heap upon her stone bed once she was alone. Kylo had become synonymous with safety for her, and without his presence, she felt like an exposed nerve. How she wished to go back to their last duel. This time she would stay. She would let him kiss her. Maybe, she would even tell him the truth. Anything would be better than this. Even Kylo rejecting her because of the truth would be a better situation.

This trend of dinning with Snoke continued night after night. Hux would escort her from her “room” into the hall. There he would stand guard with Snoke’s eight other knights while Snoke laid out his plans over and over again. After she rejected him, Rey would be dragged back to her room where she would cry and dream that Kylo had come for her.

For five whole days she endured this cycle. But Snoke’s patience had its limits, and it was reached on that fifth night when she rejected him once again. Their dinner was over. Snoke had taken his seat once more on the throne before he proposed marriage to her again. When she rejected him, the life-altering truth came out.

“Such strength. Like your grandparents. Like your betrothed.” At the mention of her fiancé, Rey flinched. “I knew the moment I saw you at the tournament in Batuu that you would be Ren’s undoing. I knew he would not be strong enough to stay away from you, and you were not wise enough to leave him earlier.”

“Leave them out of this!” She hissed at the decrepit being in front of her.

Snoke’s maniacal laughter filled the crumbling hall giving Rey another moment to truly appreciate where she was. This castle was very old and had obviously been in battle at some point. The chandeliers were either in pieces on the floor or hanging lopsided from the ceiling with at least twenty years-worth of cobwebs and dust covering them. Pieces of columns lay scattered around the room, and what were once large wooden tables were cracked and splintered. Vines were slowly taking over the walls. Not even the table they ate at each night was well cared for. The only things in the room that appeared to be in any good order were the black stone throne upon which Snoke sat and the large marble fireplace behind him.

“My dear princess, they are the reason you are here. For years I sought a way to steal you away from Mandalore so that I might have my revenge on the man who was responsible for taking away my power and having me banished from Alderaan. Naturally, going into Mandalore to retrieve you was a suicidal fool’s errand. No one just goes there intending to capture the princess without a death wish. Imagine my surprise when I found you wandering around the forests of Alderaan after Batuu.”

Rey scoffed at the ridiculousness of his speech. “Why not take me earlier then, if you have known of my existence outside Sundari since the tournament at Batuu? And who could you possibly take revenge on by abducting me?” Though she tried to hide it, she also nervously asked: “How do you plan to get your revenge?”

“Those Knights of Ren are not to be trifled with. It didn’t take me long to identify their leader. Tell me, young princess, what do you know of this region?” When she only returned Snoke’s question with a cold stare, he continued on, “This region was acquired some ten years ago by Alderaan. It was once a part of my land. In the native language of the people who live here, this land is called Ren.”

Snoke paused for a moment to let the blow land. He knew the moment it did. Rey’s eyes widened by a fraction, but she quickly schooled her features. Crossing her arms, she demanded, “What does that have to do with anything? Knights and lords frequently take the name of their land as part of their title.”

Oh, Rey knew how those titles were bestowed though. As a future queen, how could she not? It could only be granted by a sovereign or a high-ranking lord. Meaning, Kylo likely received his title from Queen Leia herself since there were no other lords or ladies in charge of this region yet. That automatically sent her mind reeling.

Once again, Snoke laughed before he spoke. His words were laced with meaning. “It is not the name of the land so much as the name of the leader of the knights. Kylo is a title that the people of Ren use to reference their leaders. Specifically, their princes.” He snarled out the last word.

Suddenly, the earth seemed to sway under Rey’s feet. In the back of her mind, she could hear the merchants and knights whom she had spoken to as a young girl telling her about Prince Ben. One detail that would not be dissuaded from her mind was the fact that he was personally responsible for the defeat and banishment of an unnamed threat from Alderaan. A threat that remained unnamed until now.

“I see you are piecing together the truth. Admittedly, I fought against it at first myself. But some things can never be mistaken. He fights like Skywalker. Like his uncle. And his sword – It drips with the blood of my men. For as long as I live, I shall never forget that sword.”

Rey can’t mistake the deep-rooted hatred that is pouring off the man sitting on the throne. A cold chill settles in her heart as she begins to realize where this is going. She is bait – or worse.

“It thrilled me to see that Kylo or Prince Ben – whichever you choose to call him - had a soft spot for you, but to learn your true identity? Nothing has ever brought me such joy. You already made him soft when he was young, but now you are a true weakness. He will come for you, and then I shall kill you with the cruelest stroke.” Snoke growled forth. “Unless you choose to marry to me.”

Rey remained standing tall. Nothing Snoke said would cause her to cower in fear. Despite all the outward signs she gave of her defiance, however, her strength was flagging with every breath she took. She was to be the weapon used to destroy Kylo. And if Snoke was to be believed, Kylo was actually Ben Solo, her fiancé. Snoke was either going mad or he was telling the truth. No matter what, she knew he was right about one thing. Kylo – Ben - would come looking for her, and when he did, she would die.

“I choose death over betraying Ben.” Her heart hammered as she openly admitted who he was. She had her suspicions when Kylo told her of his fiancé. Suspicions she had simply brushed aside as wishful thinking. Now, though, Kylo actually being Ben made complete sense. Tears began streaming down her face. He _would_ come, and she would lose him. She set her gaze determinedly on Snoke.

“I thought you might.” Snoke’s gaze traveled up over Rey’s shoulder to the entrance to the hall and settled on something. “What do you think of her decision?”

Rey turned slowly toward the entrance. A dark, hooded figure with his sword drawn stood silhouetted against the crumbling castle. His presence caused hope to begin creeping its way back into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. So I made Kylo Ren have a meaning that fit the needs of this story. It is not just some made up name. It is an actual title here.
> 
> There are also a couple other movie references in here: The Emperor's New Groove (the dinosaur comment) and Swan Princess (that whole marry the bad guy so he can legally become king thing).
> 
> There is an actual chapter count up now. It might go up one more chapter. We shall see what happens. Next chapter is going up sometime around Thursday.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops. Had to up the chapter count. Oh well! Enjoy!

The figure walked purposefully into the hall. Rey felt her stomach drop a little when she immediately noted that it was not Ben. He was much too short. Once he was in the light, she noticed that, like the Knights of Ren, he was in all-black clothing. The only thing not black on him was his sword. The bright steel blade he wielded was offset by a beautifully constructed gold and emerald hilt.

“Well, well, well…” Snoke growled. “What do we have here? You are not the prince. I know his sword almost as well as I know yours, Lord Skywalker.”

The man in black stood still a short distance from Rey. He reached up and pushed back his hood to reveal the care worn face of Luke Skywalker. He crossed his hands in front of him in very relaxed manner. Everything about the man exuded quite confidence and power. His hair and beard were streaked through with grey, and his hands showed evidence of years of using a sword. The one thing about him that seemed at odds with his imposing presence were his gentle, glittering blue eyes.

“Snoke.” His voice was restrained but commanding. “I believe you are not supposed to be in this region.”

“Your nephew did seem to be rather adamant about it. Shame he isn’t here to enforce his commands. Where is the whelp anyway? I expected _him_ to come for his bride.”

Luke rolled his eyes and huffed out a small laugh. “He had some last minute… wedding details to see to.”

The booming laugh that left Snoke chilled Rey to the bone. Ben wasn’t coming. Instead, he had sent someone else to rescue her. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

_

_Three days earlier – The road from Alderaan to Mandalore_

_Luke’s back was killing him. Long distance rides on horseback were for the young. He was well past those days. Stretching as much as could in his saddle, Luke gingerly popped his back and immediately felt some of the soreness ebb away._

_Mandalore was still another eight days away from where he was. So long as all went well, he should arrive right on time. Leia had made it a point after Princess Rey had vanished to set up a time when the whole family would converge on the capital of Mandalore. They were supposed to be there exactly five weeks before the girl’s twentieth birthday. Ben had been informed that he was to be there as well at that point or he might lose her to his brother. Poe was many wonderful things, but a faithful partner? Nope. Ben saw that and had rapidly agreed to the designated time to arrive in Sundari._

_It warmed Luke’s heart to see how Ben had taken to little Rey over the years. The poor girl had experienced enough heartache in her life; the last thing she needed was to have a hate filled man stuck with her. Granted, Ben was not thrilled to be told at thirteen years old that he was engaged to a three year old, but he had adjusted well. By the time the elders started pushing for the marriage to take place, Luke could see that Ben had developed a soft spot for her despite the fact that they had never met. That fondness led to his unrelenting protection of the girl – from both the elders and Poe._

_Luke was snapped back to reality as seven large horses thundered up the road in his direction. Any other time, he would have drawn his sword and shown how young he still was; but he recognized his nephew’s black stallion._

_Pulling his horse to a stop and motioning for the others around him to do so as well, Luke waited patiently for Ben to get close._

_And what a sight his nephew cut! He looked like he had not slept in a month of Sundays. The dark circles around his reddened eyes were startling. The forever pristine appearance of both him, his armor, and his horse was missing. In a word, he looked tormented._

_“Ben, whatever happened?!” he demanded of his nephew once he was in ear shot._

_Ben swiftly jumped off his horse and stalked toward his uncle. Sensing the boy’s distress, Luke swung out of his saddle and strode toward his nephew. They just stood and stared at each for a moment while Ben’s chest heaved with emotion. Before Luke could react, Ben had thrown himself in his arms and was sobbing while telling a rather shocking story._

_After a solid hour of soothing Ben and getting the full story out of him, Luke asked the obvious question: “Why are you here and not out there looking for your fiancé?”_

_“I already found her.” He murmured. “I found her and can’t do much about it. Snoke’s castle is surrounded by thugs. Plus, he has his own guard with him. He will know that I am coming. He is for sure waiting on me. Uncle, I need help.”_

_His nephew was not one to admit defeat or the need for help. Looking at the lost boy in front of him broke Luke’s heart. He reached out and placed his hand on Ben’s shoulder._

_“Takes a strong man to admit he needs help.” He smiled encouragingly at Ben. “I will go with you. We can come up with a plan that will work. And when we all come out of this alive, we are going to get on this road and go to Sundari… After you and Rey talk. What were you doing for almost a whole year? How do you miss big details like that?”_

_“Not paying attention.” Ben replied flatly._

_

_Eight hours earlier_

_The early morning air was still and cold. The first frost of the season was laying heavily on the ground. Sunrise was just beginning to break when Ben, Luke, and their combined knights neared the old castle. Collectively, there were about ten of them. The odds weren’t great. Thankfully, Luke’s old butler was not with them to explain that._

_“I sincerely hoped to never have to see Death Castle again. It was horrid enough when old Sheev Palpatine was in charge of it. Now, knowing that Snoke has Rey in there…” Luke cringed as he allowed his sentence to trail off._

_“Are you absolutely certain that this will work, Unlce?” Ben asked for what had to be the fiftieth time in the last hour._

_“Yep. The old tunnel that I used to get into the castle is still there. I can see the entrance from here. Are you ready? Could be another few hours before we can make our move.”_

_“So long as you remember the signal, we should be ready.” Ben said as he eyed the pitiful, crumbly fortress._

_Luke and Ben exchange a nod as they parted ways with the knights following closely behind Luke. If all went well, their plan was foolproof. They just had to do the impossible – keep this a secret from someone who honestly appeared to be able to see into minds._

_

Ben absolutely hated crawling through the dingy tunnel that eventually dumped him out right behind the great hall. Thankfully, Luke was right – those tunnels didn’t appear to be known. He met no resistance traversing them.

As he came out of the tunnels and neared the great hall where the throne was located, he could hear the steady rise and fall of voices – one male and one female. His heart hammered wildly as he recognized _her_ voice. At least he knew that she was definitely alive.

Through the cracks and holes in the walls of the castle, Ben could see evidence that the knights were silently and swiftly dispatching the thugs. So long as they could keep it quiet for another few minutes, all would be well.

He darted around corners until he came up to a well shadowed area that gave him an unimpeded view of the great hall. The eight guards that had been with Snoke in Batuu were all stationed around the room, and the obnoxious red-head knight was standing to Snoke’ right. Snoke himself sat on the throne that was close enough to Ben at that moment, that he knew he could reach him quickly and dispatch that foul loathsome evil little cockroach with little effort. Were it not for Luke, that would leave him and Rey open to immediate attack.

His attention did not dwell on Snoke or his men very long. It was quickly arrested by the stunning woman standing tall in front of Snoke. Her long chestnut hair was loose around her shoulders, and she was wearing a beautiful crimson and gold dress. Ben could have smacked himself upside the head for missing what he was seeing now. How could he have missed it? She looked every inch a queen, and he was hopelessly in love with the woman who was standing there with defiance glittering in her hazel eyes as she commanded Snoke to leave her grandparents and fiancé out of what was going on.

Getting the message to his uncle that he was in place and ready turned out to be a chore, but Ben felt like he had done well. Their signal was so small that it was unlikely that anyone would have picked up on it unless they were looking for it. After all, rats appeared to be a normal thing in this castle. It was completely gross, but he managed to wrangle a few of them, tie off some colored rope to their necks, and let them loose in the hall. They definitely couldn’t risk using any form of light like they normally would.

While he waited, Ben listened intently to everything Snoke and Rey were discussing while waiting for the sign from his uncle. It hurt him that Rey was learning his identity from Snoke. It hurt to watch her have to come to grips with this information under these circumstances. He mentally made note that he should sweep her into a hug as soon as he got the opportunity. After all, it couldn’t be too inappropriate for him to comfort the woman he would end up married to within two weeks of their arrival in Sundari.

A haze of red settled over Ben’s mind as he was forced to listen to Snoke threaten Rey’s life and propose to her all in the same breath. He watched with growing anger as Rey grappled with fear and then boldly declared: “I choose death over betraying Ben.” He very nearly wept at hearing her words, but he didn’t have time for that. Luke had just walked into the hall and Snoke had seen him.

The guards and Hux had their swords drawn and had taken a step closer to the new threat beginning the trend that would put them closer to Luke and further away from Snoke. Ben pulled his already drawn sword close to his side. It was show time. He just had to wait for Luke to get closer to Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luke sure is a great distraction and always knows how to make an entrance. And, yes, I referenced another movie. Couldn't help myself. I love that scene with Hermione socking Draco in the face! Classic moment!
> 
> Next update will hit around the weekend.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Here it is. The confrontation with Snoke. I am not thrilled with it. This chapter fought me tooth and nail. If there is anything that needs to be fixed, I apologize in advance. I was working on this instead of sleeping (like I really should have been doing).
> 
> Quick note though - This chapter is basically one big fight scene. Nothing is very graphic. Typical Star Wars level violence.

Tears were slowly streaming down Rey’s face as she listened to the exchange between Luke and Snoke. Ben desperately wished to run out there and kiss away the pain on her face. To tell her that he _did_ come for her. He just wanted to let her know the he had come for her. There was no way to know how this would pan out after it was all said and done, but he didn’t really care. So long as he was with her, he knew he was doing the right thing.

“How did you manage to get past my men? I did not expect you to be so wise. Clearly you have a death wish, though. I will happily give you the end you desire.” Snoke snarled.

“Your overconfidence is your weakness. Do not underestimate me, or Rey, or Ben.” Luke replied evenly.

Ben continued to keep a close eye on the guards and Hux. Luke just needed to be in position. Once that had happened, Ben could deal with Snoke.

“The emperor once confided in me that you were overconfident in your abilities and that it was your weakness. I see what he means now. You come in here expecting to defeat me and leave with the girl?” Snoke bit out. “You are sorely wrong. I cannot be beaten.”

Adrenaline surged through Ben’s body as he saw Luke take the final step toward Rey. All the pieces were in their place. Now was the time to act. He took a fortifying breath before sliding around the corner and sneaking up behind Snoke’s throne with his sword at the ready.

_

It was rather unnerving how close Lord Skywalker had been allowed to get to her with no repercussion. She was almost certain that she could stretch her arm out and touch him. Whether she could or not, he was close enough now for her to see that he had a second sword strapped discreetly to his back – the sword Ben had given her.

The stillness that had settled over the room made her stomach clench in both fear and anticipation. It was the kind of quiet the settles just before a storm. Rey instinctively knew something was about to happen. She slid her feet toward Skywalker as stealthily as she could trying to make her movements as small as possible. Her peripheral vision was trained on the hidden sword.

Without warning, a rather loud crash resounded through the hall followed by the body of one of Snoke’s hired thugs falling through a crack in the roof. The guards sprang into action as they began to charge Luke’s direction. In this moment of distraction, only Luke noticed the large shadow creep up behind Snoke.

A loud gasp split through the room making Snoke’s guards stop abruptly and turn toward their master. His eyes were wide with pain and panic. A large hand was wrapped around his throat and a blade was sticking out of his abdomen. The wielder of the sword slowly came into view leaving Rey breathless even as she screamed his name.

“BEN!”

Ben, however, had his attention completely on Snoke. “When I banished you, I made it clear that you were never to step foot in Alderaan again or to threaten her people. The consequence was just as clear, and yet here you stand. Your death is your own fault.” With that said, Ben swiftly removed his sword and Snoke slumped forward onto the ground dead.

“The same ruling that banished Snoke also banished his knights,” Ben growled as he gave them all a challenging stare meant to give them once last opportunity to set down their swords and leave.

Hux eyed Ben incredulously. “You aren’t supposed to be here,” he stated stupidly. “Skywalker said you were taking care of wedding details.”

Ben pinned him with a cold stare. “My fiancé being abducted is pretty big wedding detail, don’t you think?”

In that moment, Rey wanted nothing more than to run to Ben, but she knew better. She didn’t have a weapon – yet. Smoothly, she turned to Luke and was about to ask for the other sword, but he spoke first.

“Stay behind me, child. This could get very dangerous very fast,” was what he said as he pushed her behind himself.

Rey just gaped at him before turning all her attention back on what was about to be a fight. The sounds of an already intense fight outside were finally beginning to drift into the castle. The tension was palpable in the room.

Ben gave a come-and-get-me motion, and Hux along with the other knights were on him. Desperate to help, Rey reached out and pulled the sword free from its sheath on Luke’s back. In a move that echoed back to her first duel with Ben, she quickly cut a slit down the front of her dress, and thanked herself from when she first arrived for keeping the breeches.

With a now improved range of movement, Rey slid out from behind Luke and drove her sword directly into the unsuspecting knight that was charging toward him, but Rey had no time to think before the next knight was running her way. Their swords connected in several strong blows before Rey was able to grab his wrist and twist her way closer to him. With a swing of her sword, she was able to slash her opponent across the stomach and take him out.

Spinning on her heel, Rey found Luke staring at her aghast. He hadn’t even joined in the fight yet.

“Maybe I should get behind you,” he stated in shock.

Rey rolled her eyes and huff out an irritated breath. “You let me know when it gets dangerous.”

And then she was off again. She ran toward where Ben was fighting for his life. Looking back for a moment, she noted that Lord Skywalker had finally snapped out of it and had joined the fight. That took two opponents off their hands leaving them with four others and Hux.

Coming up behind the fray, Rey was able to dispatch one knight before the others realized she was there. She fought her way to Ben’s side where she had long ago decided she would stay – no matter the outcome.

Calling on all her training over the years, Rey was more than a match for any of these knights especially with Ben fighting with her. They quickly took out three of the knights surrounding them leaving a knight that used some odd daggers instead of a sword and Hux.

Hux clearly had a vendetta against Ben. As soon as the opening came for him to step in and fight Ben, Hux took it – gleefully. He was a formidable opponent. Not nearly as strong as Ben, but he was extremely intelligent. It was a challenge keeping up with him, but Ben did well. He only lost his footing once, when his attention was drawn away from the fight by a sound of distress coming from Rey. Once he had confirmed that Rey was all right, he was able to return his mind to the task at hand.

The knight that Rey was left with had a wicked swing that he used with his daggers. More than once, Rey found herself having to dodge a well-aimed blade. One of them connected with her arm but did little more than leave a mild scratch before she was able to remove said blade from his possession. Unfortunately, she got too close to him during one of her more desperate swings, and he was able to lock her sword arm in place. Panic started to bubble up her throat as she watched him bring a dagger closer to her neck. In a move that she hoped would work, Rey released her sword and freed her arm just in time to avoid the dagger that very nearly speared her. She rolled away from the knight, grabbed her sword, and stabbed up and into his chest.

Freeing her blade from his body, Rey turned around in time to see Luke charge into the darkened hallway and Ben deal the final blow to Hux.

Just as quickly as the fight started, it was over. All was silent. There were occasional sounds of a fight coming from outside, but it sounded far away. The fire that had been in the fireplace was scattered around the room during the fight. With nothing there to sustain a flame for long though, they slowly began to die out. There was still light enough for Rey to see the beloved face of Ben.

Without one thought, she dropped her sword and sprinted back to Ben throwing herself into his arms. The clatter of his sword could be heard echoing throughout the hall as he liberated his hands so that he might hold her closer. They stood that way with tears of relief and joy falling down their faces uncaring who might see them or what they might think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update will be before Wednesday. Hopefully will be able to finish this thing by Friday.
> 
> There was a movie reference in this chapter. Did you catch it? I will tell you exactly what it was when I post the next chapter.
> 
> I also referenced an interview with Adam Driver in that first paragraph. He was describing Ben. I thought what he was trying to say fit nicely here.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this wasn't meant to be something that referenced movies at every turn, but it rapidly devolved into that! One last movie reference. It just kinda happened and I liked it too much to remove it!
> 
> In the last chapter I referenced the movie John Carter. There is one scene in the entire movie that I like. John Carter tells Dejah to get behind him because things were going to get dangerous, but Dejah is a strong woman who can handle herself. She kicks butt and then turns around and tells John to let her know when things got dangerous!

“Escape now. Hug later,” an exasperated voice echoed around the hall.

They both turned around to meet the amused eyes of Kuruk. He was covered in the filth of battle and had his mace slung over his shoulder.

“No helmet?” Rey inquired.

“Lost it in the battle. Besides, it kinda feels pointless now,” he announced with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

A deep rumbling chuckle sounded out close to her ear. Turning her gaze up to Ben, she saw he already smiling down at her. He gave her hand a quick squeeze before stepping away to gathering his sword. She followed suit and walked back across the hall to the place where she had haphazardly discarded her own sword.

As she walked, her eyes and mind finally took in the carnage and death around her. While she was more than capable of protecting herself, realizing all the life that she had taken and the lives that were taken in her defense left her feeling sick. She felt herself retch, as hot tears began to gather in the corners of her eyes. Her every attempt to stop it failed. When she reached down to pick up her sword, she found herself on her knees hoping against all reason that she would not vomit.

Warm hands settled on her tense back and a deep velvety voice cut through the haze in her brain. “Rey, it will be okay. It’s over.”

Those same hands reached down and picked up her sword. He wiped it off using a part of a nearby tunic that Rey refused to acknowledge was on a dead body. Next thing she knew, she was being lifted off the floor. His armor was decidedly not comfortable, but she felt safe in Ben’s arms. For the first time in five days, Rey slipped into unconsciousness willingly. She woke a few moments later to find herself outside the castle.

“Hey, you. Think you can walk?” When she nodded her affirmative, Ben set her down on the ground.

“What happened?”

“I assume that was your first time in a real fight?” She nodded once again. “Simple. Shock. Coming off the adrenaline of battle. Not pretty. Not fun. We all go through it. You handled things rather well,” Ben consoled her as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“I passed out. You call that handling it well?” came her amused response.

“Considering this is not what you were raised to do, yes. Most young boys don’t do half as well when they deal with this the first time. And don’t buy into the mindset that it was your fault they all died either. They knew this would happen if they returned. That was settled when they were banished.” He faced her completely and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I am so sorry you had to learn who I am that way, Rey. I can only imagine what you must think of me.”

She enthusiastically returned his hug. “I lied to you as well, Ben. The only negative thing I am thinking about you is the fact that your armor is making this hug rather uncomfortable.” A small nervous giggle escaped her. “You really aren’t mad about who I am?”

The nervous look she gave him broke his heart all over again. “No. I am completely relieved to be honest. I thought I was going to have to choose between you and the woman I am engaged to. I was supposed to be in Sundari four days from now to help look for you and to ensure that you didn’t end up stuck with my half-wit brother.”

Rey smiled up at him and sank further into his arms, but then she comprehended something. “The other night when you were upset and we fought. You said you didn’t know what to do. Was that…”

“Me trying to figure this out? Yes. I wanted to stay with you, but I also wasn’t willing to turn my back on my fiancé. I have no idea what I would have done if I had been forced to make that decision.” He broke their embrace and started walking hand-in-hand with Rey further away from the castle in search of the others.

In what once would have been the courtyard of the castle, they found Luke and the other knights cooling off. Much to Rey’s surprise, Ben’s knights and Luke’s knights mixed a little like oil and water. They weren’t necessarily enemies but they definitely had a rivalry. She watched as one of Luke’s knights – a man she would later learn was named Hennix – shot an arrow at a dead thug that was situated dangerously close to Cardo. Cardo jumped and shot an incredulous glare at Hennix.

“What was that for?” Cardo growled.

“He was twitching!” Hennix explained.

“He was twitch… that’s because he’s got my ax embedded in his nervous system!” Cardo exclaimed as he pulled at the ax that was definitely buried in the skull of said thug causing further twitching.

“Typical,” Ben commented as he observed the knights. She turned enquiring eyes on him. “We try to keep our knights separated. It is always like this. They are all begrudgingly friends. Personality conflicts. Always in competition with each other. They will be calling each other incompetent before the day is done.”

“Hey!” Luke shouted at them. “There is a timeline to keep. If we aren’t in Sundari soon, Leia will make corpses of all of us. You two go talk while we will finish up here. That way we can get on the road soon. I prefer my head in its current location.”

Suddenly, Rey was a bundle of nerves. This meant she would be alone with Ben while knowing who they were to each other. She cast a hesitant gaze up at him. Sensing her nervousness, Ben took both her hands in his and came to stand in front of her.

“I need to speak with my uncle really quick. Let’s meet over by horses in half an hour,” he said as he pointed to where the horses were tied off at the edge of the woods.

_

Rey’s whole body was shaking from nerves and lowering adrenaline. This was a conversation that she knew needed to happen, but that didn’t mean that she was ready for it. The more she thought about it the more she came to the conclusion that she would never be ready. Time to be brave.

Before she had the chance to lose her nerve, a shadow fell across her as Ben sat next to her on the fallen log that he had tied Grimtaash off to. She heard him take in a deep breath and shift so that their knees were touching. The comforting feel of his ungloved hand slid around hers.

“Everything I have told you about me has been the truth, Rey. You just need to insert names. Feel free to ask me any question you need to, but I honestly only have two questions I need you to answer. Pretty sure I know the answer to one, but the other I definitely don’t know.”

“Okay. One,” she said without looking his way.

“Have you been completely honest with me as well?” He asked quietly.

“Yes. Same as you. Just insert names now that you know who I am.” Her gaze continued to wander over the green landscape that was hidden by the crumbly castle walls she had been behind for the last five days. “And two?”

She heard him suck in a steadying breath like he was scared of her answer. “Why did you leave Sundari.” Scratch that. He _sounded_ scared. She quickly realized that he thought it was _his_ fault she left.

Rey finally looked over at Ben. At some point, he had shed his armor which she found rather comforting ( _Maybe that was the point,_ she thought to herself). His attention was on their linked hands as he rubbed his thumb absentmindedly over her knuckles. Clearly, he was concerned about what her answer would be. Before she answered him, she decided she needed him to be looking at her. She turned her body to face him, and, using her free hand, she gently turned his face to hers.

“I left because you were gone,” was her gentle response. “The elders decided that if you didn’t show back up, I would marry Poe. No offense to your brother but I did not care for that idea. I had grown comfortable with the knowledge that it would be you I married.”

A deep blush crept up her neck and onto her face as she found herself telling him about how younger Rey had behaved where he was concerned. “I don’t really have any immediate questions to ask you because I was a curious girl who wanted to know as much as I could about the man I would one day marry. I asked anyone who came to Mandalore from Alderaan for information about you. Anytime my grandfather was around you, I would hound him for days to give me every detail about your interaction. I ended up with a little crush on you by the time I was…”

Her ramblings were cut short by Ben’s lips suddenly landing on hers. During all those years of talking to merchants about Ben, Rey had heard plenty of other stories. Notable among those stories were the ones about a unique invention in the Far East. They called it fireworks. Rey had never seen them in person, but, based on all the descriptions she had heard, she was now sure she knew what they looked like based on the light show going on behind her eyelids as Ben kissed her passionately.

When they breathlessly broke apart, Ben asked against her lips: “I love you, Rey. Marry me?”

Rey pulled further away and laughed merrily. “Ben! We are already engaged!”

“I know. Pretend we aren’t. Pretend that we met like other normal people. Pretend we had a choice in all of this. Would you marry me?” came his hopeful question.

Rey studied his face. The love that he clearly felt for her was no longer restrained. It was etched all over his familiar features. “I love you too! Yes, Ben! A thousand times yes! I will absolutely marry you!” she laughed as she pulled him into another deep kiss.

“To Sundari?” he asked against her lips.

“To Sundari,” she sighed as she melted into another kiss.

“You incompetent oaf! You almost set me on fire!” came a sudden booming voice from the castle. They broke apart from their kiss because they couldn’t stop the laughter that was bubbling up.

“Some things never change!” Ben stated as he laughed.

“I am so glad that some things do, though,” Rey happily responded as she pulled him back into another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Must love The Lord of the Rings! Best part of the whole trilogy (in my opinion) was the friendship between Gimli and Legolas. I loved that scene in The Two Towers (extended edition) after the Battle of Helms Deep. Always hilarious!
> 
> Next (and final) chapter should be up sometime on Wednesday along with an announcement about the next story I will be posting. It just kinda started the other day and now I can't stop!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter one day early! Enjoy

“Sit down, your worshipfulness. You’re gonna wear a hole in the floor that way,” Han told his wife who had been nervously beating the same path in the floor of the palace since they arrived in Sundari two weeks prior.

“You can be calm for the two of us, Han! Ben is late. He should have been here a week ago! Something must have gone wrong! And Luke is never late, but he isn’t here either,” Leia worried as she continued pacing around in the main hall.

“Ben is very capable. I am sure that he is fine. You will see. They will both be here soon,” Obi-Wan attempted to sooth the anxious queen.

Leia cast withering glares back at both kings. It was so unlike both Luke and Ben to be late. Anything could have happened. Her last communication with her son had been over a year ago. Why was she so stupid as to just let him out of her sight? Over the last week she had entertained every possible situation that might have delayed her boy. Did he find love and change his mind? Was he dead somewhere? Had he been captured and taken as a slave to some far land? These thoughts raged through her mind taking away any rest she might have wished for.

The loud blast of a trumpet cut through the noise of her thoughts. Hurrying feet could be heard in the corridor just before Tai one of Luke’s knights burst into the room.

“Excuse my interruption, your majesties!” he announced through heaving breaths. The man had clearly been in a hurry to get there. “I bring word from Lord Skywalker. He will be here within the day, and he comes with news that will make the delay worth it.”

A collective sigh of relief was exhaled by all in the room. Han came up behind his wife and planted a kiss on top of her head as he told her that she had worried for nothing. A swift elbow to his ribs let him know that his comment was not appreciated.

“And Ben? Is there any news on my son?” came the queen’s continued worried questions.

The smile that crossed Tai’s face left them all in wonder. “He is alive and well. Lord Skywalker crossed paths with him some two weeks ago. They should arrive together tomorrow morning.”

Another sigh of relief escaped Leia’s lips. “Thank you, Tai. You are dismissed.”

The knight bowed and took his leave of the anxious royals.

_

The next morning, both royal families gathered in the great hall for breakfast. Hardly a word was spoken or a bite eaten. They nervously awaited the arrival of Luke and Ben, and wondered what the news was that they brought with them.

“Only person missing from this is my precious Rey,” Obi-Wan mentioned sadly.

The poor old man had been broken by the disappearance of his granddaughter. No one knew what had happened. There were so many questions surrounding how and why she had gone missing that it had caused a complete change in many things in Mandalore. Some of the laws regarding princesses were overturned. Methods of guarding the palace were changed, replaced, or removed altogether. There had even been discussion of dissolving the engagement between Ben and Rey. A discussion which never came to any fruition.

Satine reached out and laid a withered old hand on her husband’s shoulder. They seemed to communicate with one another through their eyes alone. Leia was convinced that if Obi-Wan had not had Satine, he wouldn’t have survived Rey’s disappearance. As it was, he had aged considerably since then.

“Well, not to sound disrespectful or anything, but I am glad that Ben is coming so that he can look for the princess. She is pretty and all, but I don’t care to get married,” Poe declared much to the chagrin of his adoptive parents. The sound of a trumpet announcing the arrival of someone to the castle saved Poe from a sound tongue lashing.

At a speed that was inconsistent with her age, Leia shoved away from the breakfast table and hurried to the courtyard to meet her brother and son. The others followed but at a much slower pace. Her haste, however, was not necessary since Luke and Ben had been spotted at the outer edges of town. It would take them a little while longer yet to arrive.

When the small party slowly came into view on the other side of the drawbridge, Leia sighed in relief. Luke, his wife Mara, their three children, and Luke’s knights were at the front. Jaina was happily settled next to Mara on a cart that was being driven by Luke’s valet. Jaina’s twin brother Jacen was riding proudly next to his father who was busy keeping little Anakin from falling off the saddle in his excitement.

Behind the Skywalker family rode three of Ben’s knights. They all looked like the cat that got the canary. What the royal families saw behind these knights explained everything and left them in a state of shock. Ben sat astride his great black horse. His happiness could be felt even from the great distance. In front of him sitting side saddle on the horse and settled happily against Ben was a beautiful young woman with chestnut brown hair and tan freckled skin. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress that looked suspiciously like one of Mara’s.

The closer they got, the more visible it was that the whole party had been through an ordeal. All but a couple knights, Mara, and the children were covered in cuts and bruises.

Suddenly, Old Kenobi’s voice broke out over the sound of hoof and heart beats. “REY!” he sobbed as he attempted to sprint with his cane to where the lovely young woman sat in the saddle with Ben.

Castle guards were quick to step up to Grimtaash once Ben had pulled him to a halt and help Rey down. As soon as her feet were on solid ground, she broke into a run toward her grandfather who she quickly wrapped in a loving hug. Leia immediately noted how her son had swung off his horse and followed Rey like a lost puppy. The look on his face really made her wonder what had happened in the last year because her son was most assuredly head over heels in love.

_

“And by they way, Obi-Wan, you should be proud of this girl right here! She showed me up in that fight. Took out two knights before I even had a chance to!” Luke boasted during the midday meal.

They had told the whole story starting with Ben leaving and become Kylo Ren and going all the way through to Snoke’s defeat. There were murmurs of surprise when Rey told them why she left (Poe didn’t care. He was too busy flirting with Lady Bliss). Laughter boomed around the hall when Ben explained how she very nearly killed him when they met. Overall, everyone was enthralled by their tale and happy with how it had brought them to where they were just then.

“I am just thrilled that we won’t have to deal with Snoke again!” Han announced.

“Not nearly as thrilled as the elders will be to not have to fight with these two over their marriage.” Obi-Wan exclaimed. “Speaking of which. I spoke with them earlier today,” he paused and pinned Rey and Ben with a heavy gaze.

“What did the old goats have to say about this?” Ben inquired at length.

“Well, they were happy that you wouldn’t be giving them grief over your marriage anymore,” explained Leia. “They were not, however, excited by the fact that you were traveling together for the last year. It didn’t matter to them that your knights were with you the whole time.”

Ben’s hand was suddenly wrapped around Rey’s under the table. She looked over at him and noticed that he had a funny look on his face. Ben had worked with both councils far more than Rey ever had so she trusted that he knew what was going on. He cast a quick glance her way before looking back at his mother. It was King Kenobi that filled in the missing information, though.

“They were not very happy to learn that their future monarchs had been in what they believed to be a compromising situation. Typically, we would announce the wedding and then have about a month to prepare. They have asked that this happen sooner rather than later due to the nature of the last year of your lives.”

Rey swallowed hard. “How soon?”

“Tonight. It was suggested that you marry quietly and have a public celebration in a month,” Leia answered.

The hand that was wrapped around Rey’s became slack for a moment before he readjusted their hands to thread their fingers together. She looked up at him to see a question in his eyes – like he was asking her if this was okay. In response, she smiled at him and held his hand a little tighter.

“Ok, kids. You wanna share that conversation with the rest of the class?” Han grumpily requested. “Can’t believe there are more of them that talk without talking,” he grumbled.

Leia swatted patiently at his arm. “Pay him no attention. He didn’t sleep well last night.” At which statement more mumblings could be heard about someone’s anxious pacing keeping him awake.

The young couple laughed before sharing one more look. “We knew something like this could happen before we ever got on the road to come to Sundari,” Ben explained. “In fact, this particular possibility was discussed a few nights ago. We are ready.”

“Very well. Leia and I will take Rey to her room and have Rose help us get her ready. Ben, I believe Obi-Wan wants to speak with you,” Satine announced.

After lunch was over, Rey was whisked away by her lady’s maid, her grandmother, and Ben’s mother. They went through every dress she owned and finally settled on a cream and gold one. Rose styled Rey’s long hair in curls and braids finishing it off with a few flowers.

“We can make you look glamorous for the public wedding. We will add your crown, a really fancy dress, that blue cape. You will be stunning. For now though, you look just beautiful,” Satine assured Rey as she watched Rose finish with her hair.

Rey turned and smiled at her grandmother. “What did grandfather need to talk to Ben about?” she asked curiously.

“I believe something was said about a threat. Something to the effect of, and I quote: ‘I may not be as young as I once was, but if he hurts my girl, he will find out where she got her ability with a sword from.’”

Both women found themselves giggling uncontrollably until Leia returned with some fresh picked flowers for Rey to use as a bouquet.

“The priest is here. I was told to let you know that he will perform the ceremony before dinner in the great hall. Tonight will be just our families and the knights,” Leia informed them before sniffing a little.

“Whatever are you crying about, Leia?” inquired Satine.

Leia sniffed again and swiped at a stray tear. “We have been waiting so long and now it is finally here. I may have just realized that my baby boy is all grown up.” She laughed at herself all the while crying a little more. Before anyone realized what had happened, they were all four laughing and crying – yes, even Rose joined in.

Finally free of the well-meaning attention, Rey all but ran out of her room. She only slowed a little once she reached the steps and began descending them. There at the bottom in the corridor outside the main hall, she found Ben. Gone were all the trappings of a knight and in its place were clothes that only a prince would wear. She smiled at the fact though that his clothing was still darkly colored, but she couldn’t remember a moment that he looked more handsome.

When he turned around and locked eyes with her, she felt her heart begin to race and her breath catch in her throat. In just a few quick steps, he was in front of her grinning like a love-struck idiot and holding his hand out for her to join him in walking into the great hall. Smiling shyly, she reached out and took his hand with no intention of ever letting go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this has been a journey! I enjoyed it but am glad it is over. I have learned that while I love teaching medieval history, I am not sure I enjoy writing it! Thank you for sticking with me to the end!
> 
> Starting this Saturday, I will be posting something that I actually started working on like a week ago, but it honestly won’t leave me alone! I was watching one of my favorite Hallmark movies when inspiration struck. The story is titled “Makeover My Heart” and was inspired by the movie Fixing Pete.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are always welcome and appreciated! As previously stated, I want to work through this one slowly to get it right. This chapter is meant to be a preview. I might (if I feel it is ready) post the next chapter on Friday. If not, the next chapter will go up on Sunday in two weeks. The rest of the chapters will be up on an every other weekend schedule. This one shouldn’t be more than ten chapters long.


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